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2017 Honda NSX to be priced “at the very premium end” of the market

Australian pricing for the 2017 Honda NSX hybrid sports coupe is yet to be confirmed, but buyers who are expecting a bargain from the Japanese brand had better think again.


The Honda NSX’s advanced drivetrain includes a longitudinally mounted twin-turbocharged 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine producing 373kW and 550Nm behind the seats. It’s teamed to a nine-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, as well as a 148Nm electric motor intended to remove lag by delivering power immediately to the rear wheels.

Both front wheels have their own 73Nm electric motor, which allows low-speed pure-electric operation (thanks to the lithium-ion battery pack nestled in the chassis). Honda claims a total system output of 427kW and 646Nm.

Enticing, right? But those aren’t the only big numbers that will likely be associated with the new NSX.

Honda Australia director Stephen Collins told CarAdvice at a media event this week that the local price of the new Honda NSX – which is priced from US$156,000 in the US and £130,000 in the UK – hasn’t been confirmed yet.

But he said the new model will be positioned “at the very premium end – and it will be very premium”.

When asked if he had locked down a price for the NSX yet, Collins said “no”.

“I would expect that in the next month or so we will be in a position to get pretty close to finalising the NSX price.

“We already know that the price has been announced in the US and in Europe,” he said, indicating the new model would be similarly positioned here. Converted, the price is roughly $207,000 before you consider our small market and the cash-grabbing Luxury Car Tax.

“We’re getting close,” he said. “We’ve already announced the five dealers that will be selling the car. That will start the pre-order process,” Collins said.

“At this stage we’ve asked dealers not to take orders, but I am aware of a number of dealers who are holding some orders. How many? I’m not sure. But that will start the formal pre-sale process.

“I expect we will have the cars literally on the ground, in showrooms, delivering them to customers by November.”

The NSX will be followed by the tenth-generation Honda Civic Type R – a hot hatch with proper credentials, according to Collins, and one that will be positioned at a far more attainable level.

“Our goal will be to make the Type R very good value for money. I don’t know how much volume we will do, but I think it will be an absolute leader in the hot-hatch segment,” he said.

Collins gave little away about other sporty models from the brand – presumably because there’s not much to add, despite fellow Japanese brands nailing the affordable sports car brief: think about the Toyota 86, Subaru BRZ and WRX, and Mazda MX-5.

“Would we like more sporty cars and more sports cars in our range? Absolutely. And if there are more sports cars available to us, then we would put up our hand for those,” he said.

“But I believe that in the medium term, NSX and Type R will start to really deliver that sportiness back to our brand,” Collins said.

Note: US market Acura NSX seen in these images for illustration purposes only.

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