Future Honda NSX Type R Likely To Keep Hybrid Power

The original NSX Type-R and later NSX-R were the ultimate versions of Honda’s mid-engined supercar. So with the new NSX now upon us, speculation has naturally turned to whether or not it’ll spawn a Type R or other hardcore variant. Speaking to NSX Dynamic Development Leader Nick Robinson at the car’s international launch this week, it certainly seems likely.

“What we’re officially saying is that this is our starting line,” Robinson told us, adding: “From here, we have options.” A convertible version is likely to be one of those “options” but a more hardcore car seems inevitable too. We know that due to race regulations the GT3 NSX is rear-wheel drive only and doesn’t feature hybrid tech, and Honda campaigned a similarly set up car in this year’s Pikes Peak. So, can we expect the same of an NSX Type R? It’s not on the cards, by the sounds of it.

The whole hybrid ethos runs to the NSX’s core, as Robinson explains. “It’s not like we made a standard car and then added that sport hybrid system with torque vectoring. We integrated [the hybrid system] very early in the project, so the chassis was developed around the potential for that torque vectoring.”

When asked if that approach made a non-hybrid NSX unlikely, Robinson said: “Probably yes, because our whole philosophy was to show what we believe is the future of sporty driving. To have a conventional turbocharged engine by itself with a high-level conventional chassis attached to it is something that everyone’s doing already. We don’t feel like we need to re-make the status quo, we want to make what’s next.”

Whatever happens, expect to wait a while for future NSX derivatives. But for now, the ‘boggo’ NSX is a hugely exciting car. Check out our verdict here.