Honda has just revealed the next-generation Honda NSX may be based on Honda’s 1000 HP Pikes Peak race car, the 4-motor Acura EV Concept.
The 4-motor Acura EV finished third in the Pikes Peak hill climb race in 2016. Its all-electric all-wheel-drive powertrain helped it perform, comprised of four electric motor which produce around 740 kW and 800 Nm of torque with a 70 kWh lithium-ion battery pack and a weight of 3,300 lbs. Honda says that the electric vehicle is capable of 0-60 mph in just 2.5 seconds, and 0-120 mph in only 6.2 seconds.
The current all version of the all-wheel drive hybrid NSX has only been on sale since last year, meaning that a new NSX is unlikely to be launched before 2023 when battery technology has increased enough to justify a new release.
Tesla’s powertrain is based on technology from the 1990s, with a phase 3 AC induction motor. Unlike Tesla’s Model S P100D and other current high-performance 4-wheel drive vehicles which use 2x electric motors and traditional mechanical differentials, Honda’s new electric NSX features four electric motors, one for each of the wheels. Since the vehicle has a dedicated motor for each wheel, the Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) system can apply the precise amount of positive or negative torque individually to each wheel. This increases the vehicle’s handling and makes torque vectoring and full-time active yaw control possible, meaning consumer electric vehicles can be safer and more energy efficient.
It may be another 5-6 years before Honda’s 4-motor Super Handling All-Wheel Drive starts its production, but the team at Evans Electric is already hard at work on developing an AWD torque vectoring system.
Tesla may have kicked off the electric vehicle revolution, but at least in the area of 4-motor EV’s, Honda is ahead of the pack.
