Confirming months of speculation, Honda officially unveiled the 2015 Acura NSX’s V6 engine package, armed with a twin turbochargers, however the big news is how the engine is positioned within the car. Unlike the original NSX, the new model will have its engine mounted longitudinally and not transversely. This new design isn’t going to be shared with any other Honda product.
This mystery twin-turbo V6 is also teaming up with a previously confirmed dual-clutch transmission of the paddle variety with an unconfirmed amount of gears. Automotive News also reported that Honda is mulling an 8-speed dual-clutch transmission that tops the 7-speed unit going into the RLX Hybrid.
Hideki Wakamatsu, Honda’s operating officer and chief officer of technology development for drivetrain and e-drive told Edmunds that the change from a transverse layout to the longitudinal one happened recently after extensive testing, but that the change would not delay the anticipated on-sale date of 2015.
Not only does this layout simplify packaging (look at how much material is behind the engine now), but Wakamatsu says that the car is dynamically improved with this configuration.
Those of you who are familiar with NSX history will know that this isn’t the first time an NSX has gone longitudinal, as the Super GT racing NSX also featured this layout.
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