Obviously, with four motors (three EV, one twin-turbocharged V6), AWD and 600 hp, the drive should make up for all of that nonsense.
Which, at the outset, I wasn’t so sure of. Because to me, this latest NSX has always been a bit of a conundrum. With all that heavy EV tech, plus looks that – prior to this Type S conversion – were a little Generic Supercar, it seemed at odds with its price tag and its raison d’être. The original NSX was such a pure, unbridled thing that this version 2.0 was a stark contrast. Or should I say, a blander contrast.
It didn’t take long behind the wheel of this latest version, though, before I started re-adjusting my outlook.
As soon as you depress that throttle, this SH-AWD-equipped supercar blasts off the line to a cacophony of noise that sounds more like the V10-powered Lexus LFA howler than anything hybridized. The transmission has been tweaked to provide even faster shift times and more positive paddle action, and the result is a car that moves through the air like a single slab of carbon-fibre and nothing else. There is hardly any inertia, hardly any squat, or dive, or body roll. It revs so fast that it took all my concentration just to keep my fingers in lockstep with the revs.
The suspension has also been tweaked so that the bespoke Pirelli P Zeros (measuring 305 mm at the rear, and 245 mm up front) are squished even further into the pavement (also helped along by tweaked aerodynamics) and so it comes as little surprise that grip is phenomenal and turn in is ratcheted up since the front axle gets some torque vectoring via its electric drive.
In any of the two Sport modes or the Track mode, this is a riotous supercar – for the most part. And I say that because there’s also something called Quiet mode, and what that does is keep you in an all-EV situation, wafting along the boulevard to the opera.
At the end of my time with the NSX, tough, I was left scratching my head a little, thinking that perhaps all the comfort elements – plush seats, spacious cabin, quiet mode – took the sheen off just a little bit. Remember: at these prices, the NSX is going up against tried, tested and true no-compromise supercars developed by teams with years of experience under their belts. Lamborghini, Porsche, Audi, McLaren – they all have something to say in this segment and they all make no-nonsense, no-compromise cars that represent the bleeding edge of what a modern sports car is today.
Indeed, while the Type S sticks by the previous-gen NSX’s ethos of offering similar performance to Lamborghini and Porsche but for similar or less money, it simply doesn’t feel quite as unbridled as those cars do. It’s a hybrid in powertrain, and after my time with it, I found it to be a hybrid in attitude as well in that there’s more than a little grand tourer blended into the mix.
Which, if we’re honest, is an intriguing mix in many respects. After all, who doesn’t love a supercar you can also use daily? Well actually some don’t, but given that every one of the 350 units Acura earmarked for North America has sold, the lovers outvote the haters.
We like
Upgraded styling
Manic engine note
Well-calibrated interior
We like less
A little soft ‘round the edges
Aged interior tech
Good luck finding one
The competition (liberally interpreted!)
Audi R8
Chevrolet Corvette Z06
Lamborghini Huracán Evo
McLaren 720S
Porsche 911 Turbo
Specifications sheet of 2022 Acura NSX Type S
