MARYSVILLE (Ohio): Acura celebrated on Tuesday the line-off of the first serial production 2017 Acura NSX hybrid sports car at the new Performance Manufacturing Center (PMC) here. The PMC is the exclusive plant to make the NSX.
The first customer, Rick Hendrick (top pic, left), earned the right to custom order the first NSX with a winning bid of US$1.2mil at the Barrett-Jackson auction in January. All proceeds from the sale went to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation and Camp Southern Ground. Hendrick drove his Valencia Red Pearl Acura NSX off the line. VIN 001 features exclusive interwoven wheels, carbon ceramic brake rotors, leather and Alcantara interior trim and carbon fiber upgrades including the engine cover, roof, and rear decklid spoiler.
"Taking delivery of this first new Acura supercar and knowing the proceeds will benefit two remarkable organisations for children makes this a very special moment for me and everyone on our team," said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports and chairman of Hendrick Automotive Group. "It's especially rewarding to see this incredible supercar coming to life in the United States."
Innovations to the NSX construction, painting, assembly and quality confirmation process include fully robotic MIG welding of the aluminum-intensive space frame, 14 hours of meticulous hand assembly by 16 technicians, and a dynamic performance testing and confirmation process drawn from the company's extensive race experience.
The NSX's 3.5-litre twin-turbocharged V-6 engine is hand-assembled by another plant near Marysville, and it is then mated to a 9-speed dual clutch transmission and rear direct drive electric motor. Acura said each NSX engine is machine balanced, bench tested and broken-in to the equivalent of 241km of service to ensure it is track-ready upon customer delivery.
The NSX engine makes 500hp at 6,500 - 7,500 rpm and 550Nm of torque at 2000 - 6000 rpm. Helping to power the car are three electric motors. System output is 573hp with top speed of 307kph.
Development of the Acura NSX involved a global R&D team led by engineers at the Ohio Center of Honda R&D Americas, Inc. in Raymond, Ohio near here. The final design was created at the Acura Design Studio in Torrance, California, based on an original concept from the Wako Studio in Japan.
