I can't wipe this smile off my face. Woo! Sideways!
Hello everyone and welcome.
Beside me is the second generation Acura NSX,
Acura's halo supercar.
So how do you design a performance vehicle?
Well, Acura believes it's about the combination between man and machine.
So in this video, we're going to be talking about how they connect the driver to the car.
Acura believes the best way to engineer a feeling,
to become one with the car, so to speak,
is the idea of zero delay.
So whenever the driver acts, the car must immediately react,
whether it's the throttle, the brakes, the steering or the transmission,
everything needs to be immediately responsive.
If there's a delay between when the driver asks the car to do something,
and when it does something, you feel disconnected from the vehicle.
And it's that delay that Acura sought to eliminate.
Here inside the NSX I am with Katherine Legge. She is a professional racecar driver.
Katharine, thanks for being here, and where are we?
-We are at the beautiful Willow Springs Raceway track here in California, and we are driving the beautiful NSX,
and I'm going to take you around the track. We're not gonna push it too hard --
-Why not?
-Because I don't think you can handle it.
-You don't think I can handle it?
Alright, fine, we're not gonna push it hard 'cause apparently I can't handle it.
-I'm just gonna do a couple laps to give you a real feel for the car.
Now, typically with turbocharged cars,
There's a delay between when you press the throttle, and when you get the torque from the engine -- turbo lag.
What Acura has done to eliminate this is to use three electric motors to fill that gap in time,
while those turbochargers are spooling up.
The result is that you get immediate torque available when you put your foot down.
-I feel like everything I ask of this car, it delivers immediately.
It's smooth, it's precise,
it's immaculate inside, and it's immaculate in its feedback and the feel that it gives me.
You know, I get on the brakes, it brakes straightaway
I ask for the power, it shifts up when I forget to shift up.
I mean, you can't really ask for anything more.
I'm in track mode -- it's a little fun!
How have they done this?
Well, starting with the throttle there are essentially three systems used to launch you forward.
So, in the center, you've got a 3.5 liter twin-turbo V6. That's sending power to the rear wheels.
Sandwiched between that V6 and the nine-speed dual clutch transmission,
is a direct drive motor, which is also assisting power to the rear wheels.
and up front you've got a twin motor unit, so you've got two additional electric motors powering that front axle.
Finally, let's talk about the transmission.
Acura's done something pretty unique here, where first and ninth gears have their own individual roles.
First gear is just for launch control basically, ninth gear's just for efficiency.
And then you've got close ratio second through eight
so let's go ahead and see what launch control is like.
To get into launch control mode, you turn the dynamic mode knob to the right,
hold it it puts you in track mode, then you simply hold the brake, hold the throttle. Three, two one..
[Ahead warp factor 10]
..and we are off!
Now, what's really cool about the transmission is, because it's a dual clutch transmission,
it allows for pre-selecting the next gear.
And so, as a result, it's always ready to shift, and shifts are super quick.
On top of that, because you've got electric motors powering you forward on the front axle,
you never actually lose torque, so you've always got positive torque when your foot's down,
even when you're shifting gears because those electric motors are covering that gap.
So a huge thank you to Acura for sponsoring this video, and having me out on a track to test out the NSX.
I've had an incredible time, this car is insane.
Thank you guys for watching, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below.