In advance of the market launch of the highly anticipated next generation Honda NSX, the engineers leading the supercar’s development shared new technical details and design strategies with the automotive engineering community at the SAE 2015 World Congress and Exhibition. Additional information about the team’s efforts to achieve a true “New Sports Experience” included details of the NSX’s world’s first body construction process that helped create a multi-material space frame resulting in class-leading body rigidity, the advanced total airflow management system and an update on NSX’s power unit specifications.
Significant technical revelations concerning the NSX included:
– The NSX includes Honda’s first use of a revolutionary multi-material space frame design that delivers class-leading body rigidity while remaining lightweight.
– World’s first automotive application of new ablation casting technology resulting in world-class body rigidity for ultimate handling and control.
– World’s first use of a three-dimensionally formed, ultra-high-strength steel A-pillar, supporting class-leading rigidity and crash performance while providing outstanding outward visibility.
– The NSX achieves top-in-class aerodynamics targets without the use of active aerodynamic elements, while its three-motor Sport Hybrid power unit is cooled through 10 heat exchangers all thanks to a total airflow management strategy that maximizes the flow of air around and through NSX.
– Displacement of the NSX’s all-new twin turbo V-6 engine was confirmed to be 3.5-liters.
– The NSX will mark the introduction of the most capable and highest torque capacity Super Handling All-Wheel Drive system in Honda history.
– The latest proprietary logic advances Honda’s two decades-long pursuit of Super Handling that proactively responds to driver inputs, allowing the NSX to achieve a new level of line trace while at the same time intelligently supporting the driver in changing environments.
Additional details on each of these engineering achievements follow: Multi-Material Body Honda’s First Application of a Multi-Material Body with Space Frame Construction Developing the Most Rigid-in-Class, Multi-Material Body At the core of the NSX mission to deliver timeless sports car values is an aluminum- intensive, multi-material space frame. This innovative space frame represents a next-generation leap in body design with class-leading technology that is exclusive to Honda within the automotive market. Based on internal data, the all-new Honda NSX multi-material body is by far the most rigid in its competitive set.
While the all-aluminium monocoque body of the original NSX was ahead of its time, current aluminium and ultra-high-strength steel-intensive body architecture has been taken to the limit for supercar design.
A key advancement in casting technology allowed the NSX development team to realize a quantum leap in body design, for the first time being able to engineer a vehicle with castings in key locations for rigidity, that also support the ductility necessary for placement within crush zones. The all-new NSX employs 10 air-cooled heat exchangers responsible for cooling the front twin-motor unit (TMU), twin-turbo V6 engine, rear direct-drive electric motor and 9-speed dual clutch transmission (DCT).
The all new, twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 engine at the heart of the Sport Hybrid SH-AWD power unit requires the greatest cooling and receives it through three radiators: one center and two side units to get maximum airflow volume and efficiency. The center radiator is tilted forward 25-degress, allowing the largest, optimized configuration that best utilizes the inherent pressure gradient while maintaining the strict low center of gravity targets of the NSX’s Advance Sports Package.
Variable gear ratio steering is applied to further enhance the confident, race-ready driving dynamics of the all-new NSX. Powertrain Sport-Hybrid SH-AWD Power Unit Powering the Sport Hybrid Power Unit with Racing Technologies As announced at the 2015 North American International Auto Show, the new NSX will utilize an all-new power unit from a clean sheet design.
At its heart is an all-new longitudinally mounted twin-turbo V6 engine that is mated to an all-new, Honda-developed 9-speed DCT with an electric motor that applies its torque directly to the crankshaft for higher output with immediate power delivery to the rear wheels.
