Acura unveils NSX GT3 racecar

The twin-turbocharged NSX supercar is currently undergoing testing and is slated for homologation as an FIA GT3 class racecar this fall.

The NSX GT3 racecar features custom bodywork and aero components including a large deck wing spoiler, underbody diffuser and enlarged hood vents for efficient engine cooling.

It will be powered by a 3.5-liter, 75-degree, twin turbocharged DOHC V-6 engine using the  same design specifications as the engine in the production NSX, including the block, heads, valvetrain, crankshaft, pistons and dry sump lubrication system. The engine will be paired with a 6-speed, sequential-shift racing gearbox, delivering power to the rear wheels.

The NSX GT3 will utilize the aluminum-intensive space frame  produced by the Performance Manufacturing Center in Marysville, Ohio, where both the car and engine are manufactured.

Initial development of the NSX GT3 was conducted by the company’s Japan race engineering arm with testing on race circuits in Europe and Japan. Additional development, testing and final homologation to FIA GT3 global racing specifications is currently being undertaken by Honda Performance Development in Santa Clarita, California.

“The NSX was designed as a pinnacle expression of Acura Precision Crafted Performance, and we’re looking forward to proving its ultimate performance capabilities in GT3 racing,” said Art St. Cyr, president of HPD.  “We’ll be working with the NSX engineering teams in Ohio and Japan to bring our dream of a truly world-class new Acura NSX racecar to fruition.”

The production 2017 Acura NSX launches this spring with serial production slated to begin in late April at the Performance Manufacturing Center. It is set to be priced at just under $160,000.

The original Acura/Honda NSX was launched in 1990 and became a cult classic over its quarter-century production life. With almost 270hp from its 3-liter DOHC V6 engine (later 290 from 3.2-liter), and weighing only 3000lbs, it had a similar power-to-weight ratio to one of the cars it set out to beat, the Ferrari 348.

Almost to a man, reviewers hailed the NSX as far superior in handling to both the Italian car and the contemporary Porsche 911, the 964, and most gave the NSX a thumbs-up for its cab-forward styling, too. The fact that at $60,000, the Honda cost some $35,000 less than the Ferrari also meant most forgave the car its uninspiring interior. 

Instead it became renowned as the supercar you could use everyday because of its reliability, its good all-’round visibility, and its restrained proportions. 

The new 573hp twin-turbo hybrid NSX has much to live up to.