Been reading around and came across this, some may already know?
That's right....this monster, that you thought was gone forever
:
Apparently:
According to Honda America’s Executive Vice President; Dick Colliver, who revealed Acura’s (US auto brand owned by Honda) plans of positioning its brand alongside other luxury auto brands such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes Benz and Lexus; work on the NSX replacement project is “mostly done”. This statement further fuels speculation that the recently shelved Honda NSX V10 will be revived.
Honda announced back in December last year that it has canceled the V10 NSX project, which was supposed to be the most powerful NSX due to the uncertain economic climate. I just hope that once the sky looks brighter, Honda will get the project back on track. Lets keep our fingers crossed!
Honda has announced the possibility of resurrecting the shelved NSX project which it buried at the latter part of 2008 due to ever decreasing sales. The reason for reviving the NSX was because, according to Dick Colliver, executive vice president of Honda in America, the development was “mostly done.”
There is an attempt by Honda to raise the confidence of dealers who were concerned at the demise of the NSX. Meanwhile, Acura is holding on to its intention of becoming a Tier 1 luxury car maker without a value image compromise. Honda also cancelled the RWD V8 platform for the Acura together with the NSX. Honda received intense criticisms for introducing a new styling direction with the coming out of its latest TSX, TL and RL models. Compared with 2007, Honda sales dropped by 15 percent in 2008.
So there is still hope for the 'shelved' NSX.....
The S2K however appears another story....
With the announcement that the Honda S2000 will cease production after the 2009 model year and its successor in doubt, Honda decided to give the high-revving roadster a special send-off before it shuffles off this mortal coil.
The Honda S2000 Ultimate Edition retains the 2.0-liter VTEC-equipped four-cylinder putting out 237 hp and 153 lb-ft of torque through a six-speed manual transmission, but benefits from a new set of wheels and an optional hard-top. "Grand Prix White" coats the exterior, while a red leather interior, color-matched stitching and numbered doorsill plaques sets it apart from the standard model. Honda will debut the S2000 Ultimate Edition at the Geneva Motor Show this March, with sales beginning in Europe shortly thereafter. Honda hasn't announced if the U.S. will get its own version special edition S2000, but if the automaker can save a few bucks that can go towards the development of the new model, we'll be okay with missing out on the "Ultimate."
PRESS RELEASE
Honda has announced that the Honda S2000 Ultimate Edition will go on sale from March 2009 in Europe. This limited edition has been produced to mark the end of production for the award winning sports car.
The Ultimate Edition retains its highly acclaimed 2.0 litre 9000 rpm VTEC engine and combines it with a Grand Prix White body and graphite coloured alloy wheels. The shade of the paint evokes the colour first used on Honda's 1964 F1 car and many sporting models since. The exterior colour combination with the dark metal alloy wheels and unique black S2000 badging gives a fresh look to the timeless shape of the roadster body.
The white exterior will be matched with a red leather interior and complimented by unique red colouring for stitching on the gear lever gaiter. Ultimate Editions will be marked out by their unique numbered plaques on the kickplates, denoting their position in the series.
The 2-seater sports car may now be almost 10-years old, but its 240PS 2-litre is still one of the highest output per litre and highest revving engines ever made. In recognition of its incredible power output, the Honda S2000's engine has won the International Engine of the Year category for 1.8 to 2.2 litre engines five times in its lifetime.
As the name suggests, the Honda S2000 Ultimate Edition will be the last version before global production of the model ceases altogether at the end of June 2009. Since the introduction of the Honda S2000 in 1999 until the end of 2008, Honda has sold 110,673 units worldwide - 19,987 of those in Europe.
Shame to finally see an end for the S2000, especially if the development project for the replacement truly has been axed.
Still I have my fingers crossed for the NSX project! I mean.....there's no way they would have just axed it, all the development was practically complete!
It was recorded as doing a 7.37 around the Nurburgring during a test session, with normal Nurburgring traffic and without laser timing gear, plus while it was still 'under development'! Back in June 2008!!!!
The GTR was spyed doing a 7.38, just weeks before Nissan released an official time driven by a Nissan test driver of 7.29!!!
In my opinion, there's no way Honda would scrap the project, it's just being delayed whilst the markets settles, demand returns and hype builds.
