The Acura NSX was the first vehicle I ever drove in which I felt I could never make a mistake. With predictable mid-engine balance and a refined V6 power curve, it could be driven through the turns with a deft touch; the NSX didn't have to be manhandled like the original Viper.
Now I feel like the replacement for the NSX is taking on some of the Viper's virtues. Called the "Advanced Sports Car Concept," the show-stopping debut at the Acura press conference revealed a V10 engine mounted in the front--just like the Viper. Other fang-like cues include long hood, short-deck proportions and an overall feeling of more muscle and less finesse; more quarter horse and less thoroughbred.
Acura, however, is taking steps to make sure that the new Acura 2-seater isn't losing its deft touch. A rear-wheel-drive biased version of the high-tech Super Handling All-Wheel-Drive (SH-AWD). If you've never driven the Acura RL, you can't understand the pro-active response and control offered by SH-AWD. Give it a rear-wheel-drive bias and let the fun begin.
While performance is certainly the driving force behind Acura's next-generation sports car, the message at the unveiling was clearly style. The concept was developed at the Acura Design Center in Southern California with the mission of only giving a "preview" of the NSX successor's design direction. The noticeable NSX reminders include the wraparound taillights and the black canopy.
