Honda confirms NSX development has restarted

Heads up, Hondaphiles – it looks like the NSX has been dug out of storage and plopped back on the table as a candidate for production. Company president Takashi Ito has announced that he’s jump-starting development on the supercar. As you may recall, the beast was unceremoniously put to bed after the global economy gutted itself back in 2008. At the time, the project sailed under the HSV-010 moniker, and Hondaeven went so far as to campaign a version of the machine in the Japanese Super GT series.

Since then, the supercar segment has all but exploded with new metal. Mercedes-Benz jumped into the action with its SLS AMG, Lexus came to the party with the high-tech LFA and old-timers like the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 and Nissan GT-R have been enjoying their own slice of supercar territory. We’re all for the notion of a resurrected Honda fighter, but we’re still going to treat this one with a healthy dose of skepticism.

We’ve been burnt before.

Source:Autoblog

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2012 Honda Civic Si getting new 2.4L engine with 200 hp

Honda gave us a preview of its 2012 Civic at this year’s Detroit Auto Show, and while the car we saw on stage was technically a “concept,” we expect the production car to look very similar, albeit with more conventional wheels, headlamps, and, you know, an interior. Instead of just showing one Civic, Honda brought out both a sedan and Si coupe concept, and now our friends at Temple of VTEC have reportedly confirmed that a new 2.4-liter mill is on deck for the sportiest of Civics.

Known internally as “K24,” the 2.4-liter engine slated for Civic Si use will be very similar to the powerplant currently used in the Acura TSX. No official power numbers have been divulged, but this engine currently makes 201 horsepower in the TSX, so we’ll bet that Civic Si output will be somewhere between 200 and 210 hp. That isn’t a huge increase over the 197 hp currently available from the Si’s 2.0-liter four, but the 2.4-liter engine should prove to be a bit torquier. Look for something along the lines of 170 pound-feet in the 2012 model, whereas the current car only produces 139 lb-ft of twist.

Official data will be revealed closer to the Civic family’s launch later this year. And while these new Si numbers aren’t leaps and bounds better than what’s currently available, the easily flickable driving dynamics and rev-happy power should still make it an engaging steer.

Source:Autoblog

Revised Honda Accord for Europe will debut in Geneva

 

Honda has announced that it will use the world stage of the Geneva Motor Show to pull the covers off its latest Accord sedan and wagon for Europe. Just to be clear, this car is very different from the Accord offered in the United States. In fact, the European Accord is very similar to the Acura TSX that’s available Stateside. ‘Course, we do wish we could get the European Accord’s fascia on our TSX, but we digress…

So what’s new? Naturally, the exterior styling has been revised ever so slightly, mostly to the front fascia and headlights. Honda has also added what it calls Active Cornering Lights that illuminate when the steering wheel is turned more than 90 degrees and a High-Beam Support System that uses a CMOS camera embedded in the windscreen that senses when to turn the brights on and off.

There are also three new colors: Alabaster Silver, Graphite Lustre and Celestial Blue Pearl, while inside you’ll find a few detail updates to the finishes, including red interior lighting for the Type S models and blue interior lighting for all other trims.

Perhaps more important are subtle changes to the car’s 2.2-liter i-DTEC diesel engine (mostly the rather nebulous “reduced internal frictional losses”) that, coupled with a “host of underbody aerodynamic aids,” increase fuel economy and reduce carbon emissions, if even just a small amount.

As for the stuff you can’t see on the surface, Honda says it has quited the cabin and revised the dual-mode dampers for greater high-speed stability and “a significant improvement in ride quality, even on poor road surfaces.” If you like what you’ve read so far, you’re bound to love the entire press release, which can be found after the break.

Honda fc Sport Car Design Concept

As you know by now a sports car that reaches the higher limits also has a big engine that must be fed in order to attain those higher limits. Therefore you can expect to burn a lot of expensive gasoline.

Grand entrance, hybrid technology, which is now being used to make the new fuel efficient cars. Most of this type car is designed to be very light weight as well as highly aerodynamic with small engines that hopefully maximize fuel efficiency.

Mitsubishi has their hybrid sports in most auto shows around the world, it is called the Mitsubishi Eclipse Concept-E, this car is a very good example of the design and looks of sports cars in the near future.This vehicle takes advantage of the hybrid technology.

The front wheels are powered by the parallel hybrid system. What this means is the electric motor is integrated with the gasoline engine which is a 3.8 liter v6, this car can believe it or not, put out as much as 270 horsepower.

Honda teases 2012 Civic before Detroit debut

Here’s our first official glimpse at the face of the next-generation Honda Civic. This sketch is intended to give the world an idea of what we can expect from the Civic show car Honda will display at the Detroit Auto Showin January. From the looks of things, the compact coupe will take the look of the current Civic and throw in some additional attitude. Along with some aggressively swept headlamps reminiscent of the European Civic Type R, the sketch also shows off a fascia with more menacing proportions. A large air inlet down low and slit fog lights help pull the car from the throws of anonymity.

Of course, it’s always difficult to tell what will survive the transition between design sketch and reality. We don’t expect to see those huge wheels nor the wildly flared hips make their way to production. Speaking of production, Honda has a long history of rolling out concepts that are nearly identical to the real deal, so keep your eyes on Detroit for what could be the first look at the next Civic.

Honda so excited about winning Japan Car of the Year that CR-Z gets special edition

The 2011 Honda CR-Z may not exactly be sailing to success here in the U.S., but it has managed to walk away with the coveted Japan Car of the Year title. In order to celebrate, Honda has decided to work up a new special edition version of its tiny sport hybrid. Only available in a special “Pearl Dipusafaiaburu” blue paint, the hatch makes use of unique 16-inch alloy wheels and premium metal pedal pads inside. If the color and the wheels don’t make this one easy enough to spot, Honda has also gone through the extra effort of placing a “Japan Car of the Year” commemorative sticker on the rear quarter glass behind the driver’s side door.

Otherwise, the Japan Car of the Year Edition CR-Z will remain completely stock. Neither fuel economy nor power has been upped in any way. Not surprisingly, it looks like this one will remain a Japanese-only offering. Still, if you like what you see, chances are you could recreate the special edition CR-Z without breaking a sweat – or your bank account for that matter.

Honda announces end of Element production

After a nine-year run, the Honda Element will officially be killed off after the 2011 model year. The Element has suffered from slow sales numbers over the past few years, and in the model’s death notice, Hondaspecifically cites that a large amount of customers prefer the better refinement and improved fuel economy of the automaker’s CR-V crossover.

Since its debut in December of 2002, more than 325,000 Elements have been sold in the United States. During its lifespan, we saw the introduction of the bolder-looking SC model in 2007, and just last year, Honda began offering the 2010 Element with a dog-friendly package (pictured). Modest facelifts over the years have helped keep the Element somewhat fresh, but newer competitors on the scene have helped expose weaknesses in refinement and power. That said, Honda’s boxy sport-ute has long been praised for its utility-oriented and easy-to-maintain interior – not to mention kicking off the modern styling trend of boxy vehicles.