Will the new Acura NSX kill Ferrari sales?

http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1071539_new-acura-nsx-to-be-engineered-and-built-in-u-s

 

No.

I have no desire to buy an Asian car.

It will compete with the Audi R8 and Porsche 911 Turbo more than anything.

 

Absolutly not. People who want Ferrari's buy them. If they want one of those they will but it in addition to the Ferrari. The other thing is the NSX is probably going to be priced in the same ballpark as a used F430.

 

It didn't the last time around...

 

As a previous NSX owner, and someone who currently owns a 430. I still plan on getting a 458, but I will also order the NSX as my daily driver to possibly replace my 997.

 

not a 991?

 

Actually in the first year or two of production the original NSX stole many sales away from the 348. There are a couple of reasons for this:
1) The 348 was not considered to be a great car by Ferrari standards (the "baby" testarossa styling, reputation for dubious handling, and spotty reliability)
2) The NSX was so different than a typical sports car/supercar (aluminum construction, Honda reliability, very good performance for not so much $$$). For a while it was THE car to own.

This time around there are literally dozens of very capable and reliable cars the NSX will compete with in the marketplace. Ferrari have undoubtedly upped their game, the 458 Italia is one of the top two or three sports cars in the world regardless of price, and proving to be reliable as well.

Honda better pull every trick they know to get performance out of the car while remaining cheap to buy, otherwise they won't even be the best Japanese supercar (Nissan GTR will prove tough to beat for performance/$$$)

 

It did not back then and will not in the future. As good as it maybe it will never replace a Ferrari. I drove several NSX when they came out both coupe and targa. Great car, nice handling, horrible typical Japanese Interior, and sadly feel. And that thing did handle really nicely.

 

No. But it will make the market larger. There are some people who just don't trust european exotic sports cars.

Personally, I think the style of this is a huge miss. It looks like the Acura marketing team designed it.

 

LOL, that thing is Craptastic

 

Depends on how soon it comes out, and what it drives like. I remember my original NSX was miles better than the C4 it replaced and it drove much better than the 348 of the day.

 

Considering the car culture that the NSX was born into, it was far more novel than it's successor could ever be. I prefer the shape of the older car decidedly. Way too much "swoopy homogeneity" these days and the original NSX still holds up well. And Ferrari's cars compared to the rest are far superior these days.

Mr. Montezemolo bought himself a new 348 back then and admitted later that he was "utterly disappointed" aside from the sheer beauty of the car. But here again, even with that car, what does Ferrari do? They make it better so that the car was improved by the end of it's run.

 

I think it will sell for about 100K so probably not.
Honda hopefully will break the molds with the new one as it did with the original.
But the car lacks "passion". That undefinable subtance that each Ferrari has.
Of course Ferrari charges double for it but hey; we get to look down our noses at everyone else as a freebie.
With any luck it will only take Ferrari four or five years to catch up technically.

 

Wow...

I've never heard anyone comment on a Japanese interior as "horrible." Can you explain your position?

I actually think the NSX's interior is pretty damn nice!

I disagree.

The last NSX cost $90k many years ago.

I am guessing that the new NSX will be at least $140k.

 

i don't think it will. the nissan gtr has pretty comparable performance to the 458 yet isn't stealing any of it's thunder.

as long as ferrari's look better, sound better, and perform at least as well as a japanese competitor, they will always be desirable.

as tundraphile already mentioned the first gen nsx did steal some sales from Ferrari. It was as fast and nearly as good looking as the 348. Great reliabilty, fit and finish, sound, it really was one of the best exotic cars one could buy in 1991-1994. Once porsche released the 993 and Ferrari the 355 the nsx lost it's advantage. the power bump in '97 didn't seem to help though it was once again close in performance to the 355.

 

It looks too bland. There is no passion in it. It is as boring as most modern Ferraris with the exception of the 458. They really need to rethink the styling. I think the Espirit will take more sales from Ferrari than the NSX.

 

I would guess that the Acura interior will be just as nice as the F car. My neighbor purchased a 430, and I love everything about the car except all the plastic looking buttons and junk in the F car. All of the silver trim looks like cheap painted plastic.

 

Not a chance, the Acura name instills confidence in quality and resale. The Esprit, for those who really know the name conjures up reliability nightmares and poor resale. Now that Giugiaro is with VW I doubt he will do the new Esprit design.

 

Agreed

Japanese interiors have generally been pretty nice. I bet the NSX interior is as nice as a Ferrari interior.

I also think the SRP will be closer to $200k than $100k

 

After such a long wait one would think that they would have come up with something at least a little bit interesting...

I'm underwhelmed.

 

With Acura's intermittent interest in the sports car game, I don't see them troubling Ferrari. Unless the NSX can bring the styling, aural and performance firepower, IMO, it'll be relegated to entry super car position like the rest of their entry level luxury fleet. Acura should have kept themselves in the game and honed the original NSX's ideals and maybe expand the family.

This new concept, seems to me to be missing a KitchenAid logo. Cause I have an Artisan mixer in a similar colour.

 

The new NSX wont be in production till 2015 at the earliest.

More likely to take Mclaren/Porsche/GTR sales if they make a great car.

 

A new NSX will only BOOST Ferrari sales. People will buy it, eventually feel a little underwhelmed, and trade up. Thanks Honda (or "Acura" to be pretentious)!

 

The NSX has always been a honda accord on steriods. It will always be inferior to the exotics of europe and america. The only serious threat it will pose is to the entry level Ferrari's like the California and Porsche Cayman.... Lamborghini has no entry model. Doubt it will matter in sales since most people buying this will likely be college grads with a boat load of debt just like the NSX of before.

Vette sales yes ferrari sales no.

 

Some thoughts...

We know too little of the cars final performance or looks to assume if it will or not.

Also, today is a lot different than 1990. A lot more people who can afford these high end cars, many new markets (ME, Russia, China, India etc.), and of course multiple times the variety of sportscars offered compared to earlier.

Even though the new NSX may or may not take some of 458 Italia (or the successors) sales, Ferrari is in the position of selling whatever they make and selling lots of it anyway. The 458 Italia is just so good and the brand Ferrari is just so right that it's the no. 1 choice for rich guys (and post-F430, for the driving enthusiasts) all around the world... And no matter how nice it is, it's a very boring choice; just another V8 Ferrari in the ocean of 348s, 355s, 360s and F430s!

And, let's not forget about the brand snobbery going on. Thousands will buy a Ferrari because of its name, and not an Acura because of its name... I am curious to Acura NSX sales in the Middle East and other new luxury markets which did not exist 20 years ago.

When NSX II eventually will start being delivered 2014-2015, 458 Italia will just have two more years of its lifecycle left, I am really curious if the car will delay the release of the 458 Italia II

Also, regarding the interior comments: the NSX' simplicity is also its strength. Compare the interior to any sportscar of the 90's, tell me about a better one! Still looks well made, properly suited for a real driving enthusiast with no bogus switches and still very comfortable yet sporty. 348's interior looks so 80's it hurts, the 911s interior was outdated before 964 hit the streets and also look at what high end cars as Jaguar XJ220 etc. had as their interiors...

Just don't underestimate Hondas engineers, Ferrari! And Honda, don't underestimate the marketing department of Ferrari.

I salute your well thought out post.
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