There was a cruel moment on the first press day at the Detroit show. Just as the
production NSX
was being unveiled on the Acura stand,
the Ford GT
was being moved onto the Ford stand nearby. And a fair percentage of the watching hacks’ heads moved with it – turning from the brand new, and long awaited, sports car sitting on stage in front of them, to the previously unannounced one that was passing in the distance.
Like a GTA fictionalised sports car?
Of course, home team advantage and all that. And this year’s Detroit show is definitely going to be remembered as the place we first saw the GT. But I also found myself wondering if it was a moment that demonstrated the awkward truth that the NSX really doesn’t seem as exciting as it should be.
That was true of the original concept three years ago. And now the finished article is equally lacking in sports car venom. The side profile is okay – a bit Audi R8ish – but from front or rear it’s very generic. And, yes, slightly dull. It looks like one of those half recognisable almost cars from a Grand Theft Auto game.
The GT was the complete opposite. The biggest problem at Detroit was actually getting a chance to see it through the throng. During both press days it seemed to be permanently surrounded by a crowd of admirers, some of who were even senior execs from rival carmakers. I know the GT is a very different car to the NSX; it will be pricier and aimed at more senior competition for starters. But don’t forget that both of these cars have been created for the same reason, to demonstrate new technologies and reflect some glory onto their respective ranges. The Ford screams that with the bravado you’d expect. The NSX – on first impressions – is mumbling.
NSX should have been the big story...
This is all making me sound very shallow, isn’t it? The proof for both cars will be in the way they drive. And there’s no doubting that the NSX’s exotic spec sheet reads like the engineering team have spent the last three years doing at least one impossible thing before breakfast every day. One way of looking at it is, as a commentator on our original show story put it, basically a Porsche 918 Spyder for not much more than a tenth of the money.
Yet there’s an equal amount of be said in favour of Ford’s simpler approach. The GT has to demonstrate the power and the flexibility of the Ecoboost V6, but beyond that nothing has been allowed to compromise performance. Hence a car that’s wide, slippery and is going to have huge aero. And one that will be going to Le Mans.
I’d love Honda to prove me wrong but the new NSX seems a bit too Zen to go racing. I certainly wouldn’t bet against it being better to drive than it is to look at – despite being developed in the States under the Acura brand, Honda remains an engineering-led company. So fingers crossed – but sports cars should have a bit of swagger as well.