Honda opens order books for NSX – but not in Oz

IN BRITAIN, Honda is inviting customers to place £5,000 ($A7414) deposits to be among the first to get behind the wheel of its all-new NSX supercar, around two years before it arrives in showrooms.

Despite the development in the UK, Honda Australia is still yet to confirm whether it will even offer the hybrid, all-wheel-drive coupe in this country.

“The position hasn't changed for us, as it has not been confirmed for Australia,” said Honda Australia public relations manager Melissa Cross.

So Aussie NSX fans will have to keep their chequebooks in the drawer for now.

Honda UK managing director Phil Crossman said the company is “really pleased with the interest we’ve already seen for the new NSX”.

“We are still two years away from the launch of the car and yet we’ve received over 20 deposits and that’s before we’ve even announced prices or seen the final production car.

“With this process in place we are confident demand will remain strong and early hand raisers can now visit any Honda dealership in the UK and place a deposit.”

The second-gen NSX, first previewed at the 2012 Detroit motor show, will again be powered by a mid-mounted V6 petrol engine.

This time an electric motor will be sandwiched between the engine and a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, while two electric motors will independently drive the front wheels.

The result is an hybrid all-wheel-drive setup that can distribute positive or negative torque to individual wheels, resulting in what Honda claims will “deliver handling performance unmatched by previous AWD systems”.

A global team led by Honda R&D Americas in California and Ohio is developing the car ahead of its production at a new factory, also in Ohio, in contrast with the original NSX that was made in Japan.

In the US, the NSX will be sold under Honda’s premium Acura brand.

The supercar’s interior was previewed at the 2013 Detroit show, paying homage to the original’s simple T-shaped layout but decked out with carbon-fibre and advanced electronics.

Honda says the designers of the new interior “strived to deliver synergy between man and machine”.

A convertible version of the NSX starred in the Marvel comics movie The Avengers, driven by Marvel’s peacekeeping force, SHIELD.