Nigerians may be missing a lot in terms of getting the opportunity to see and own the newest technology in the automobile industry built into electric and hybrid vehicles. This is because the nation is still confined to driving petrol and diesel-powered vehicles. The world has moved on to something else, offering viable alternative vehicle engines; and many are hardly bothered by the price of fuel, whether it is going up or dropping. There are electric cars and hybrid vehicles with various kinds of designs. Autonomous or driverless vehicles are fast getting the attention of people in different countries but no one is talking about this in Nigeria because they do not run on fuel and constant chaotic traffic situation as obtainable in many Nigerian major cities.
One of the most talked about hybrid cars now is the 2017 Acura NSX, described by some as the world’s slowest supercar. But many are quick to disagree with this assertion that it is a slow supercar.
A vehicle is a hybrid if it utilises more than one form of onboard energy to achieve propulsion, according to a report by Edmund.com. A hybrid will have a traditional internal-combustion engine and a fuel tank, as well as one or more electric motors and a battery pack. “Hybrids are most often gasoline-burning machines that utilise their electric bits to collect and reuse energy that normally goes to waste in standard cars,” it notes.
Introduced last week at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the all-new 2017 Acura NSX takes the original NSX’s high-performance, low-weight recipe and adds a twist of modern technology to the mix.
Describing the new Acura as the slowest supercar in the world may be deceptive. Those that have driven the luxury model attest that it is certainly not a slow car. It cannot be, with 573 horsepower.
A review by the Yahoo Autos compares the car with the McLaren 570S, Lamborghini Huracan and credits it as having digital drivetrain that works seamlessly and cohesively; even quicker than it feels; comfy enough for daily use.
An online auto journal, Car and Driver, in a review of the model calls it one of the fanciest exotic cars ever produced.
“The 2017 NSX, developed mainly in Ohio by a small group that has come to think of itself as a family, is a four-wheel-drive hybrid-electric knee to the pants of the world’s fanciest exotics,” it states.
Engine performance
The Car and Driver provides a detail description of the engine and the car performance. According to the auto journal, the 3.5-litre dry-sump V-6 has racing heredity in its odd, 75-degree V angle, and it fires up with an automatic rev zing now typical of high-strung machines.
“But it’s not a howling yap meant to turn heads in three counties, just a muffled throat-clearing heard mainly through the sound tubes plumbed from the intake plenum into the cabin. The Japanese culture emphasises politeness. The demure NSX faithfully reflects that ethos,” it states.
The Senior Vice-President and General Manager, Acura Division, Mike Accavitti, says intention of the automaker in designing the car is “to create an all-new NSX that is true to the heritage of NSX-a supercar that delivers a new driving experience, one where every part of the vehicle is respectful of the smartest part of the car, the driver.
“The soul of a car is the emotional connection it makes with the driver. With the NSX, that connection will be intense and immediate.”
The company says in a report published in Auto Nation Acura that the supercar comes with a number of special features that make it unique.
Advanced sport package
It is equipped with an advanced sports package with placement of key powertrain components -the mid-mounted engine, twin front motors and Sport Hybrid battery pack and power control unit – optimised to concentrate vehicle mass low and toward the center of the vehicle, to further enhance dynamic response. The combination of this package with the lightweight body gives the NSX the lowest centre of gravity in its class, according to the report.
Advanced multi-material body
The new NSX features an innovative new multi-material body design with world’s-first material applications and construction processes in keeping with the legacy of NSX-the world’s first all-aluminum supercar.
The NSX body utilises a space frame design-an internal frame constructed of aluminum, ultra-high strength steel and other advanced materials. Anchored by a carbon fiber floor, torsional and bending forces are taken up entirely by this ultra-rigid structure which also utilises advanced joining technologies.
