Acura NSX Concept is Tony Stark's New Ride in the Avengers
Saturday, September 3, 2011 at 1:05PM 
This morning I looked into the Temple of VTEC as I often do and found and found a simple one line post talking about an Acura concept on the set of the new Avengers movie currently filming in New York. The link was to www.superherohype.com and photos from WENN.com that included a set of pictures that showed Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and a low-slung, burgundy, Acura convertible.
Of course, we all know that Acura doesn't make a convertible and never has, in fact, we don't even have a two door in the lineup at all. Within hours the enthusiast press had picked up on this story and received the following message from Acura spokesman Gary Robinson.
"As you may know, Acura has been in the Marvel Comics Universe films as the official car of their fictional law enforcement agency called S.H.I.E.L.D. That relationship continues for The Avengers. The open-top sports car that was photographed yesterday is a one-off, fictional car that was made just for the movie and will not be produced. That said, as you may also know, our CEO has said publicly that we are studying the development of a new sportscar, but we can’t say any more about it at this time."
So this is the curious course that the NSX replacement has charted. It went from being a 500 hp V-10, to being cancelled, to being partially revived as a more "modest" project. In August of 2009 Acura's senior manager of product development John Watts, spoke with Car and Driver and said:
The NSX was “too high a halo,” said Watts. “For it to be fully effective [as a halo vehicle for the brand], it couldn’t be too far removed”
Watts went on to suggest that for the car to be feasible, it might have to be built on an existing chassis. This comment sent to the blogosphere into a tizzy. Everybody was predicting a front wheel drive NSX or something silly like that. More recently, speaking about the NSX in February 2011 at the Tokyo Motor Show, Honda president Takanobu Ito said:
"I feel that we need to meet the calls from the public asking (for a successor).”
At the Shanghi Motor Show, he elaborated with Autonews that a successor would need to be exhilarating to drive but environmentally friendly.
"That's the kind of sports car we want to make... and we are working very hard on it"
Finally, throughout this year, during the worst of the earthquake and tsunami related product shortages, John Mendel and Jeff Conrad have made comments of a "surprise" or two when talking about future product plans with dealers. A "Question and Answer" session was posted on TOV where Mendel was asked, "Honda has a history of competitive models in the Sport Compact Car segment (Prelude, Del Sol, older generations of the Civic Si)--does Honda have any plans to improve its competitiveness in this category?" His reply:
"I thought you would ask "Where is the next S2000 or NSX?" To that, I would ask you to stay tuned ... we might have some good news very soon."
What I find most interesting as I look at these photos is that the sheet metal appears to be very "production ready". Especially things like the hood, fenders and doors that carry our current styling themes forward. For example, notice the cut lines on the hood to fender, they are very similar to the current TL. The styling elements on the grill & front bumper, the lower part of the doors, and trunk lid appear to be added on pieces, much like a body kit. Is it possible that we are looking at a near production ready vehicle in disguise? Or are we looking at a prototype that was discarded back in December 2008 when (then president) Takeo Fukui killed the NSX program? Acura has 'recycled' concepts before, back in the late 90s they used the CL-X concept in a Janet Jackson music video.
So what is my final "analysis"? My gut feeling is that as exciting as this car is, it's most likely a prototype that was modified for use in the movie. However, it's also obvious that there are plans afoot for a new sports car for the Acura brand. Through the years, many bloggers have commented that Acura is PR department is clueless, but I would argue that even they wouldn't give Hollywood a car without something in the show room to show excited customers once the movie comes out. This movie is due in summer 2012 so we don't have long to wait.
Reader Comments (9)
Eh ... people will see the movie & get all excited. Imagine their disappointment when they get to the Acura dealership & the sportiest thing there is the SH-AWD TL. If Acura is lucky, it will at least increase traffic & hopefully some of them will buy something.
I just hope that Acura does not waste all of this publicity - when this movie comes out they should @ least have a coupe or something new out ...
@beelzebub I agree. I wonder if we've been inadvertently tipped off? Much like iPhone case leaks tell us about a new phone on the horizon could this be a sign of a new coupe in the future?
The proportions and styling really make it look like an Acura redesigned NSX. Not exactly liking how the front is with the chrome (probably a S.H.I.E.L.D theme..) and Mazda-esque grille, but with some overall styling tweaks this could be a real winner.
Personally, I'd like them to take styling cues from the HSV-010's front end... like a more distinct headlight arrangement.
The "Acura Avenger". Imagine that.
Oh, and it's fine if this particular concept really is a "one-off" and doesn't make it into production. I'm hoping against all odds that this is an indication Acura still knows what a good looking sports car would be like.
@Chocs I agree, the main thing with this will be to get some buzz around the Acura brand again. However, I would disagree on the "Mazda-esque grille" part though. Acura had been using the "penta" shape for some time (from the '99 TL) and I've always felt that Mazda copied the Acura design starting with the '03 Mazda 6.
Honda please build it! I'll buy it!!!
FIRST OF ALL YOU GUYS OR GIRLS SHOULD KNOW THAT THE NSX REPLACEMENT IS ALRITE DONE. IT WAS DONE FOR THE SUPER GT RACING EVENT IN JAPAN. SUPER GT REGULATIONS NEED ALL GT500 RACE CARS TO BE PRODUCTION READY OR ALREADY IN PRODUCTION. I'M 99% THE HSV WILL BE HERE SOON. AND MOST OF U PEOPLE WILL NOT GET IT
@New NSX From what I understand, HMC received special permissions to run the HSV even though it wasn't in production. That was a Front-Mid Engined car and I believe that it is possible that the chassis might find it's way into production one day, however, I'm 99% sure that the V-10 won't see the light of day in production form.
the 3.4 v8 is bettery or equal i think.
It has been all over the news/blogs that this is a precursor (along w/ the DualNote) to the new "NSX" ...