This week, we spoke to Acura Brand Officer Jon Ikeda about several subjects, including the company’s new flagship (and entry-level model): the 2023 Acura Integra. But we had another burning question, given that the 2022 Acura NSX Type S is the last year for the luxury brand’s flagship sports car: Will there be another NSX in the future? “[T]here will be a next one, at some point, I am sure … There will be another one,” Ikeda said. And the next NSX, after a hiatus, will likely be an electric vehicle as each generation of the sports car has brought new innovation and helped define the brand.
Yes, it required more capital to create the Type S for the final year of the NSX but the value of the car is as a marketing tool, a halo, a learning experience, awareness booster, and a guidepost for the direction Acura is taking to return to its former status as a premium performance brand. “We didn’t go [NSX]into it to make a lot of money.”
Ikeda said Acura always knew how long the NSX run would be and it was viewed as a vehicle that helped the brand look at what it wanted to be doing in the future and focus its direction. “We learned a lot about electrification and fun to drive which is a staple,” Ikeda said. Honda is one of the biggest gasoline engine makers in the world and needed to see what will happen in a world turning away from engines. As a hybrid, the mission of the current generation of NSX was to find fun and it provided the confidence that the future will be engaging behind the wheel.
Acura has also been putting more equity into the Type S brand and making the NSX Type S the only option for the two-seater helps build momentum. During Monterey Car Week, the first NSX Type S was auctioned off for $1.1 million for charity.
Additionally, “We didn’t want to let the NSX die on the vine either. To go quietly into the night is not what it deserves.”
Source: Read Full Article