The all-new Acura NSX is not even on sale in Canada yet, but it managed to win the title of 2017 Performance Car of the Year by Road & Track magazine in the U.S..
Delivering a “potent mix of performance, style, and emotion,” the reborn NSX beat out eight of the world's finest sports cars including the Audi R8 V10 Plus, BMW M4 GTS, Chevy Corvette Grand Sport, Jaguar F-TYPE SVR, Lotus Evora 400, Mercedes-AMG C63 S, Nissan GT-R NISMO, and Porsche 911 Turbo S.
Editors took note of acceleration, braking, handling, shift points, sound level, and weight, even accounting for the weather conditions present during testing. They also evaluated the engine, transmission, drivetrain, steering, tires, and brakes.
The Acura NSX uses a 3-motor, twin-turbocharged Sport Hybrid Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) powertrain that generates a total of 573 horsepower.
“For the first time in a hybrid automobile of any price or capability, technology has been placed firmly in the service of emotional involvement rather than in place of it,” Road & Track says. “Everything about the car—from the way in which the brake-by-wire pedal lengthens its travel when the brakes are hot to the manner in which the mid-mounted -6 permits itself a bit of the ol' barbaric yawp when it's winding out in fourth gear—is intended to enhance the driver's involvement.”