All-electric Acura NXS is finally here

Acura NSX is a sports racing vehicle developed specifically for the 2016 Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The brand-new coach-built vehicle has 4-motor SH-AWD and four-wheel independent torque allocation meaning that the company is extremely serious about winning the race.

7/5/16 5:00 am chumakdenis 1

Nowadays electric racing competitions are extremely popular.

To make a long story short, the total amount of Formula E viewers is bigger than F1 viewers – welcome to the 21st century, folks.

Of course, no wonder that every automaker wants to come up with something that can make an impression on viewers.

Automakers work around the clock to give us something unique, something innovative and something gorgeous.

So, what’s inside our bag?

Acura NSX

Our today’s guest is Japanese giant Honda with its Acura NSX model.

"EV Concept" race vehicle will be powered by four electric motors, one on each wheel. That means it looks roughly the same as a production NSX (other than the scoop and wing), but the custom EV drive train is completely different and built for racing.

The company hasn't said how much power the motors make – the company prefers to keep some information on the QT– but they will give the car something called "four-wheel torque vectoring" meaning engineers can dial a precise amount of power to each wheel, making it perform better in corners and when accelerating.

The car will use regenerative braking to extend the battery life, but that’s not something new, especially for racing vehicles.

Driven by Tetsuya Yamano

The supercar-inspired Acura EV Concept will be driven by not unknown racer Tetsuya Yamano, who campaigned last year’s CR-Z-based electric prototype.

“We’ve been tuning the car for several weeks at Pikes and have advanced its performance significantly,” said Tetsuya Yamano.

“We’re honored to be running at Pikes in this historical, anniversary year – an event respected by racing fans all over the world.”

 

The Acura EV Concept is the ultimate embodiment of the all-wheel-drive Electric SH-AWD powertrain featuring a world’s first technology that enables four-wheel independent torque allocation. The concept’s electric SH-AWD powertrain produces three times the total system output of last year’s electric prototype and is mated to the NSX body.

A few more words about super handling technology

Honda R&D has been developing “super handling” technology for more than 20 years in the pursuit of ideal vehicle handling.

By applying separate Twin Motor Units (TMUs), the brains of Sport Hybrid SH-AWD, on each axle, Acura has achieved independent torque distribution to all four corners – true four-wheel torque vectoring.

Based on the learnings from last year’s race, the team updated the system management of the powertrain for more precise thrust at each wheel.

Acura’s unique Sport Hybrid SH-AWD technology utilizes the highly responsive acceleration characteristics and regeneration capability of electric motors to further advance the torque vectoring systems currently applied to NSX, and available on RLX and the upcoming 2017 MDX.

The system enables ideal handling characteristics in various driving situations by coordinating and managing all dynamic systems, including Electronic Power Steering (EPS), Vehicle Stability Assist™ (VSA®) and Sport Hybrid SH-AWD.

With its high-output electric motors and 4-motor torque vectoring, the Concept is well suited to the demands of the 156 complex corners the driver will encounter on the drive up Pikes Peak.

 

Interesting fact: electric vehicles are ideal for Pikes Peak, since they aren't affected by the 14,000 foot elevation that chokes gas-powered engines. Last year, Rhys Millen raced a modified eo PP03 up the track in 9:07.222, a time that would have won the gas-powered unlimited class in every year but 2013 and 2014. (Sebastien Loeb holds the unlimited record at 8:13.878, a time set in 2013).

Production

The Acura NSX production car is arriving next year for around $150,000.

The all-new sports car will turbocharged with 500HP V6-engine and will use three small electric motors to boost acceleration and cut turbo lag. That gives it stunning acceleration, but purists are worried. The original NSX weighed just 2,712 pounds and was loved for its lack of excess, but the new model reportedly tips the scale at 3,800 pounds, thanks to the hybrid powertrain.

Well, who doesn’t risk never gets to drink champagne. *broom-broom*