Skip to main content

Acura chooses Ohio production site for its NSX hybrid supercar

Acura NSX concept
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Normally, when a carmaker decides which of its many plants will build a given model it isn’t very exciting, but we’ve been so starved for information on the Acura NSX hybrid supercar that such an announcement is worth noting.

Acura will build the NSX at a new facility in Ohio with the slightly oxymoronic name of “Performance Manufacturing Center.” Honda’s luxury division had previously discussed building the car in Ohio, but now it’s official.

The site will be near Honda of America’s existing Marysville Auto Plant, and the Honda R&D Americas Ohio Center that is doing most of the engineering work on the NSX.

The NSX manufacturing facility will employ 100 “highly skilled manufacturing associates,” according to Acura, drawn from the other Ohio facilities. Powertrain assembly will take place at Honda’s Anna, Ohio plant.

If there’s any car that deserves a brand new, bespoke assembly plant, it’s the NSX.

Unveiled as a concept car at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show, the NSX is the successor to Acura’s legendary supercar of the 1990s and sports a sophisticated hybrid powertrain.

The NSX features a new Sport Hybrid Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) system, consisting of a mid-mounted, direct-injected V6 and three electric motors.

One electric motor will be connected to the gasoline engine, as with conventional hybrids, and help drive the rear wheels. The other two will power the front wheels, giving the NSX all-wheel traction and the ability to vector torque side to side to improve cornering.

Wrap that package up in styling that was attractive enough to lure Tony Stark away from his Audi R8 in the Avengers (and make Jay Leno swipe car no.1 from Jerry Seinfeld in this hilarious bit), and the NSX should be quite a machine.

Acura hopes to put its supercar on sale sometime in 2015, and with a production site chosen, it appears to be well on its way to meeting that goal. We can’t wait.

Editors' Recommendations

Stephen Edelstein
Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…
Mercedes downsizes its plug-in hybrid tech with the new A250e sedan, hatchback
mercedes benz a250e plug in hybrid

Previous

Next

Read more
Porsche expands its hybrid range with three gasoline-electric Cayennes
2020 porsche cayenne turbo s e hybrid delivers 670 hp electrified punch tseh 1

Previous

Next

Read more
This Karma Revero plug-in hybrid’s audio system took more than 2 years to design
2020 karma revero gt 3d audio system details

The 2020 Karma Revero GT plug-in hybrid represents a major overhaul of a design that dates back almost a decade. German audio company Sennheiser used the updated car as a platform to demonstrate its 3D surround-sound tech, creating a one-off audio system that will be demonstrated in a Revero GT at the 2019 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

The system is based on Sennheiser's existing Ambeo home audio systems, which are able to use a handful of individual speakers to create a 3D effect. But adapting that technology to a car was challenging. It took Sennheiser more than two years to design the automotive version, according to a company press release. A car is much more challenging environment for making high-quality sound than is a living room, according to the company.

Read more