Acura is keen to establish the new NSX hybrid as a legitimate rival to the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Porsche and the rest, and what better way to do that than with a FIA GT3 entry.
Revealed at the New York Auto Show today, the twin turbocharged NSX GT3 is currently undergoing testing and is slated for homologation as an FIA GT3 class racecar this fall. It will campaign in North American competition starting in 2017.
“The NSX was designed as a pinnacle expression of Acura Precision Crafted Performance, and we’re looking forward to proving out its ultimate performance capabilities in GT3 racing,” said Art St. Cyr, president of Honda Performance Development. “We’ll be working with the NSX engineering teams in Ohio and Japan to bring our dream of a truly world-class new Acura NSX racecar to fruition.”
The GT3 model ditches the regular 2017 NSX’s hybrid and all-wheel drive setup, but keeps its 3.5-liter twin turbocharged V6 engine, including the block, heads, valvetrain, crankshaft, pistons and dry sump lubrication system, paired to a 6-speed, sequential-shift racing gearbox, driving the rear wheels.
It sports custom bodywork and aero components including a large deck wing spoiler, underbody diffuser and enlarged hood vents for “efficient engine cooling”.
While initial development was conducted by the company’s Japan-based race engineering arm with testing on race circuits in Europe and Japan, the NSX GT3 is now being honed by the company’s North American race engineering group, Honda Performance Development (HPD), in California.
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