Technical details about the 2016 Acura NSX hybrid super-car have been revealed which shed light on it’s groundbreaking new powertrain and ultra lightweight body construction.
Peeling the layers off its eye catching body, what drives the new Acura NSX is nothing short of exotic by today’s standards, what Acura calls Sport Hybrid SH-AWD.
Power starts with a longitudinally mid-mounted 3.5 liter twin-turbocharged V6 engine with both direct and port fuel injection. The dry sump engine has a narrow 75-degree V-angle and sends power exclusively to the rear wheels through an all-new 9-speed dual clutch transmission.
Between the the two is a direct-drive electric motor which applies its power and torque directly to the engine’s crankshaft to add power when its requested.
Driving the front wheels is a dual electric motor or twin-motor unit which can deliver what Acura calls zero delay acceleration, meaning they along with the electric motor at the rear can entirely negate any feeling of turbo lag.
Better still, the twin-motor unit can perform dynamic torque vectoring. And Acura even says that through the design of its double wishbone front suspension, the feeling of torque steer won’t exist through its variable ratio steering.
All this hardware requires a lot of cooling and to that the NSX has some 10 heat exchangers throughout which cool the front twin-motor unit, the twin-turbo engine, rear electric motor and even the 9-speed transmission.
The 3.5-liter V6 gets three radiators, one front and center with two side mounted units and the transmission has two heat exchangers. The turbocharger intercoolers are saddle mounted at the sides, taking air from the large side scoops.
While the first NSX was made entirely of aluminum, this one gets a combination of high-strength steel and aluminum in its space frame structure. Hung over it are aluminum and sheet molded composite panels.
Its space-frame uses a new ablation casting method for major structural gussets that join aluminum extruded tubes. These castings provide robust mounting points for powertrain and suspension while strengthening the structure.
Effectively acting as junction points for softer tubes, they provide a manageable safety structure for crash performance while also holding the structure together during the welding process in production.
High-strength steels are used in key areas like the A-pillar where more protection is needed, and materials like carbon fiber are used in the floor panels where additional weight can be saved.
Actual horsepower ratings and efficiency metrics haven’t yet been released for the 2016 Acura NSX, but we expect to hear more very soon as it’s slated to begin production in Ohio later this year.
Full article with photo gallery: Motoring2.com
