The NSX GT3 is ready for the race track, although there is a significant difference between it and the consumer model: the hybrid part.
Acura is taking its all-new NSX supercar racing, but there’ll be a distinct difference from the model just set to start rolling into U.S. showrooms in the coming weeks.
To get the two-seater accepted into the GT3 series, the Japanese maker has to make some radical changes to the NSX powertrain, abandoning the unique, three-motor hybrid system that is an essential part of the equation for the street model.
“Otherwise,” explained Art St. Cyr, the head of motor sports operations for Acura’s parent, Honda Motor Co., “we couldn’t get the NSX homologated,” or accepted into the racing series.
Acura won’t be walking away from the production model’s drivetrain, at least not entirely. The NSX GT3 racecar will still use the twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6 engine that serves as the internal combustion side of the new supercar’s driveline.
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Put the new NSX in Launch Mode and you'll feel 1.3 Gs when you take off.
According to a news release expanding upon the race effort, Acura explains, the GT3 engine will use “the same design specifications as the engine in the production 2017 Acura NSX, including the block, heads, valvetrain, crankshaft, pistons and dry sump lubrication system.” Meanwhile, in race trim, “the engine will be paired with a six-speed, sequential-shift racing gearbox, delivering power to the rear wheels.”
While manufacturers tend to be tight with data when it comes to their racing programs, Acura’s St. Cyr suggested the GT3 version of the NSX will still make some serious power, something “in the range of 500 to 600 horsepower.” That would be at least as much as the hybridized street car.
Acura’s decision to take the NSX racing is no surprise. Automakers routinely try to prove the mettle of their most powerful machines on track. Ford Motor Co.’s new GT supercar, for example, made its race debut last month at the Rolex 24 endurance race in Daytona and is building towards a much-ballyhooed test at one of the world’s most closely watched race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in June.
“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 St. Cyr.
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Acura currently campaigns a pair of TLX GT cars with Real Time Racing in the Pirelli World Challenge, the maker noted.
In race trim, the NSX GT3 will undergo a number of mandated upgrades, such as getting a new rollcage and special fuel cell to replace the street gas tank. But Acura underscores that it will continue to utilize the stock supercar’s “ultra-rigid and lightweight multi-material body with aluminum-intensive spaceframe.”
The race car will add a new, large rear deck spoiler, new intercoolers and an underbody diffuser for improved, high-speed aerodynamics.
Like the street NSX, the GT3 also will be produced at the new Performance Manufacturing Center parent Honda set up in Marysville, Ohio.
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Plans call for the Acura NSX GT3 to start its track career about a year from now.
According to St. Cyr, the luxury brand is still hoping to find a way to get the NSX into racing using the same basic 3-motor hybrid driveline found in the production car but it’s not clear how or when it would be able to get that accepted into any current motor sports program.