The Asia Pacific debut of Honda's latest high-end sports car - the all new Honda NSX - was held on the 15th of September at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre.
After welcoming speeches by General Manager, Asia and Oceania, Honda Motor, Shigeru Yamazaki, and Ted Klaus, Global Development Leader of the NSX, the car was driven out onto a makeshift runway by Formula One driver Fernando Alonso.
"The next generation Honda NSX was specifically created to bring a 'New Sports eXperience' to the supercar segment. It challenges conventional beliefs about supercars, much as the first generation did a quarter century ago," said Mr. Klaus during his opening speech.
When it comes to performance, Honda said it benchmarked the NSX against the likes of the Porsche 911 Turbo, Audi R8 V10 and Ferrari 458 Italia.
The all new NSX was created to bring the 'New Sports eXperience' for this new era by integrating Honda's original and advanced electrification technologies that have evolved with time, while still inheriting the 'human-centred supercar' concept proposed by the original NSX, which was first released in 1990. The 'human-centred supercar' is defined by Honda as one with incredible performance that anyone can drive comfortably.
One of the reasons behind the sense of 'oneness' you will feel when driving this car is a first-of-its-kind intuitive all-wheel drive system called the Sport Hybrid Super Handling All-Wheel Drive or Sport Hybrid SH-AWD.
With electrically-powered torque vectoring provided by the front-mounted twin-motor unit, the NSX takes SH-AWD technology to new heights, using the dynamic, instantaneous and continuous distribution of electric motor torque to enhance handling precision and cornering performance in all driving situations.
Not quite done with the 'wow', Honda also fitted the second generation NSX with a new hybrid system that has three electric motors working in harmony with the all new longitudinal all-aluminium 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbocharged DOHC 24-valve engine.
Mated to the engine, is Honda's first ever nine-speed dual-clutch transmission. The amalgamation of all of this powertrain wizardry gives the NSX a combined output of 573bhp at 6,500rpm to 7,500rpm, and 646Nm of peak torque at 2,000rpm to 6,000rpm.
Its advanced powertrain includes said twin motors up front, which produce 36bhp at 4,000rpm and 73Nm of max torque each; a direct drive motor found at the rear, which produces 47bhp at 3,000rpm and 148Nm between 500rpm to 2,000rpm, and a 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 engine, which produces 500bhp and 550Nm of peak torque.
At press time, the NSX costs $888,999 without COE. Official Honda dealer for Singapore, Kah Motor, has already begun taking orders for this super exclusive supercar.
During a post event interview, Mr. Klaus shared with us that out of eight colours the NSX is available in, its the 'Nouvelle Blue Pearl' and 'Valencia Red Pearl' options that cost the most to produce, as they both contain nanosized spheres in the paint that can reflect light from all directions.
So what do you get for Honda's most expensive production car to date? Well, a completely revamped Japanese iconic supercar that scares Ferraris.
