The 2017 Acura NSX is Ugly and Confused.

The idea of a new Acura NSX was interesting for a lot of people & exciting when it was officially announced in the end of 2014. Unfortunately only the name NSX lived on, & not the car. You might be saying "what do you mean, I've seen the new NSX, even touched it!" I'm here to tell you that no, no you haven't, all you saw is a car with an NSX badge on it.

Let's first remember why we loved the old NSX. It has a timeless design, compliant mechanics & it was very fun to drive. It was an extension of your body in the way that a skateboard is, not one of these electronic "hover-boards". It was quick (not fast) & was excellent in the corners. It was a drivers car, like a Ferrari but a fraction of the cost. If you're behind one at night you could quickly identify it. It was perfect in its imperfections & that's why we loved it so much. So what happened? How did it all go so wrong?

 Whoever was in charge of maintaining some lineage, some essence of the old NSX failed miserably. I'm not asking for a slow, boxy looking 90's-mobile with pop up headlights, but give us something to remember the old gal by! You know how Porsche's look the same year over year, this is the exact opposite of that. The pointy scrunched down nose & the thin headlights look like an RDX that took flight lessons. The side scoop placement & shape has no resemblance, & the extremely distinctive rear wing and tail lights are gone. The pointy ass end looks like that of an Acura TL with Aston Martin tail lights. The interior is no different, in that it is completely different. Look at this massive dial here in the middle of everything, it must be super important right? Nope, its only use it to select one of 3 drive modes. The stick shift & the 3rd pedal are missing also. Oh no, that means....

Yes, unfortunately the new NSX is ONLY available in automatic with "manual" via paddle shifters. If you're looking for some similarities under the hood (trunk in this case) you wont find much besides the number of cylinders. The new NSX has a twin turbo V6 accompanied by 2 electric motors giving it a total of 573 hp and 476 ft-lb of torque. The worst part about this is that you, as the driver are being stripped of your control.  There is very little you can do in the driver seat that translates directly to the road. Everything from the steering wheel, gas & breaks goes through a computer which dictates how the car moves. This decrease in driver involvement is huge. You are now on a "hover-board" instead of the skateboard you've had so much fun on.

With all that being said, i don't hate the new NSX. I resent the fact that they called it an NSX instead of something different. Why call it an NSX if it isn't one? The car isn't terrible by any means, quite the opposite in fact. The looks do capture what it means to be an Acura, the technology is a great display of what is possible & it is extremely fast. It will be a good experience to drive one, just not the experience you are expecting from an NSX. It's a good day for Acura, but a sad day for the NSX.