Baby NSX Would Be Nice But Won’t Happen, Says Acura Executive

The Acura/Honda NSX has gone from being an old-school sports car to a cutting-edge one with a hybrid powertrain that can almost keep up with a superbike. Priced just shy of $160,000, the NSX isn’t exactly affordable. A smaller version would probably be a hit, but, unfortunately, the automaker has no intention to build such a thing.

We’ve seen plenty of images and information pointing towards a “baby” NSX, the first of which included a few patent images that looked similar to a smaller version of the supercar. Then, in July 2017, new patent images came out and the vehicle reportedly received the ZSX moniker. Last November, Honda released the Sports Vision Gran Turismo, which brought the ZSX to life in the virtual world of Gran Turismo.

Despite all of the signs pointing towards the automaker building the sports car, Acura’s boss, Emile Korkor, told Autoguide that a baby NSX just isn’t in the automaker’s plans. “Who wouldn’t love a baby NSX?” asked Korkor, before ultimately dismissing the idea.

There was some good news, though, as Korkor claims that the same technology found in the NSX would be trickling into more affordable vehicles. But instead of using hybrid powertrains to improve fuel efficiency, the brand is looking into ways of improving performance.

“Mainstream mechanical is too easy,” said Korkor. “Hybrid technology was a different take on a supercar of this degree and the benefits of the unconventional drivetrain were really incredible.”

Korkor has a point. Seeing the NSX return as a hybrid was quite a surprise. And we’d love to see another performance vehicle, even if it is a hybrid, sometime in the near future from Acura. Just don’t expect it to be a baby NSX or a new S2000, as Honda has axed the S2K’s successor as well, citing poor demand for sports cars.