Honda is currently working to bring to market a new sports car that will serve as a successor to the famed NSX. According to a new report Honda never gave up on its plans for an NSX, but rather put a hold on development during the economic downturn.

The next NSX won’t be at all related to past V10 concepts, nor will it have anything to do with the HSV-010 race car (above). Instead, Honda is planning a new hybrid sports car, based on a modified version of the Accord platform.

Sources inside Honda tell Motor Trend that the car will follow after the new CR-Z hybrid, but be a true sports car, rather than a “sports coupe,” hinting that the power output will be far more significant. Using either a 2.4-liter 4-cylinder or a version of the company’s 3.5-liter V6, the hybrid drivetrain will made over 400-hp and be offered with a true manual transmission.

Riding on the Accord platform, the car won’t be front-wheel drive, but rather AWD, and feature a mid-engine layout that will require significant changes to the structure. This will, however, help Honda bring to the car to market faster and cut R&D costs.

Not yet green-lighted for production, Honda could unveil the car as early as 2013.

[Source: Motor Trend]

While we continue to anxiously await a possible NSX successor for the street, Honda has been out at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan testing an NSX Hybrid for the upcoming 2012 Super GT season. The 2012 season will allow teams to equip and utilize a hybrid system on their race cars in the series.

Made by Zytech (the company that handled McLaren’s Formula 1 KERS system), the hybrid drive has 40kw of output power and can be used to power the car in pit lane (full electric).

The battery can be fully charged in just one lap on a course and has about 20 seconds of use when the driver opts to turn on the overtake button. The system adds another 220 lbs or so to the race car and to determine just how big of a difference it makes Honda enlisted the driving expertise of Katsutomo Kaneishi.

Kaneishi was able to lap Twin Ring Motegi in 1 minute, 49.468 seconds. It was 4.453 seconds behind the fastest lap time recorded in that session. Development of these hybrid systems for Super GT will continue for the next year and change, so we’ll anxiously await the results and how it’ll impact the Super GT race series.

Now if Honda could pair a powerful KERS system with a high-output version of one of its V6 engines and drop it in the HSV-010 GT race car chassis and make it street legal … now we’re talking!

[Source: 7Tune]

Check out more pics of the NSX Hybrid in action after the jump:

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The World Time Attack Challenge, held at Australia’s Eastern Creek International Raceway near Sydney, has attracted a deep field of local and international competitors including top American teams Sierra Sierra Enterprises and their Mitsubishi Evo 8 and Factor X Motorsports Development and their awesome Acura NSX.

It may be an easier commute for the Japanese tuners, but it’s no less impressive that world-class Time Attack machines like the Sun Cyber Evo, Tomei/Cusco Subaru Impreza STI, and both the PanSpeed and R-Magic FD Mazda RX-7s will also be in attendance at Eastern Creek this weekend.

Hoping to put home field advantage to good use are top Australian teams Hi-Octane Racing and their stunning R34 Nissan GT-R, APC Racing’s Evo 8 MR, and Notaras and their lightweight 590-hp Mitsubishi Evo.

With an intriguing mix of the best Time Attack teams and drivers in the world, all vying for the title of World Time Attack Challenge champion, we’ll be following the action this weekend very closely and will report back on Monday with a full account of all the on-track action. In the meantime, wet your Time Attack whistle after the jump with a video of Mark Berry piloting Australian favorite Hi-Octane Racing’s GT-R around Eastern Creek in preparation for the WTAC.

[Source: World Time Attack Challenge]

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Honda Racing has officially announced the HSV-010 GT will join Japan’s Super GT racing series this year, releasing a huge selection of photos for those who just can’t get enough of the car. Based on the discontinued NSX replacement (yup, we’re still crying about it too), the HSV-010 is powered by a 3.4-liter V8 that makes 500-ish horsepower and 289 ft-lbs of torque. While the road car was expected to be powered by a V10 and get AWD, this race car is RWD and the V8 engine is thought to be a version of the V8 found in the Acura ARX ALMS cars.

Thanks to a stripped-down interior and bountiful use of carbon fiber, the HSV-010 weighs just 2,424 lbs.

The car will debut  on May 20-21st during the season opener, with four cars expected to compete.

We’ll keep our fingers crossed that a successful racing season might make Honda reconsider a road version of the car. Then again, the HSV-010 will be up against some very steep competition in the Super GT series, including several race-prepped Nissan GT-Rs.

GALLERY: Honda Racing HSV-010 GT

Official release after the jump:

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Honda’s race-only replacement for the NSX has now been spied undergoing testing at Japan’s famous Suzuka track. Called the HSV-010 (HSV standing for Honda Sports Velocity), the car is powered by a 3.4-liter V8 engine that makes roughly 500-hp. The car will race in the GT500 class, where all cars are limited to around 500-hp.

We have to say, even in purpose-built race car style the HSV is still a looker and we really wish Honda had plans to bring this car to the streets. Still, the official word from Honda continues to be that this is race-only version. Pity…

Four teams are expected to run the new HSV models in the 2010 Super GT season, with the numbers 8, 18, 32 and 100, with the first race being at Suzuka on May 20-21.

GALLERY: HONDA HSV-010 RACE CAR

Be sure to check after the jump for several videos of the HSV-010 on the track and in the pits at Suzuka.

[Source: MotorsBlog and Circuit Diary via TOV]

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It’s here at last… sort of. Above is a lone photo of the replacement to the Honda/Acura NSX – at least in race car trim. Called the HSV-10 GT, or Velocity Sports Honda, this track only exotic is built to run in the GT500 class of Japan’s Super GT series. As cars in that class are limited to around 500-hp, we can safely assume the HSV-10 GT makes exactly that.

With a full carbon fiber body, what’s even more impressive is what’s under the hood – a 3.4-liter V8 engine that no doubt revvs to an impressively high (even for Honda) rpm range to get all 500 ponies. (Honda has yet to release official specs though.)

Underpinning this impressive creation is reported to be the very same chassis that Honda was working on for several years to replace the NSX but which has now been rumored canceled.

A light weight body and 500-hp 3.4L V8, only for the track? Please Honda, nobody likes a tease.

[Source: Le Blog Auto]

Acura is reportedly moving away from its brand strategy to become a “tier one” luxury automaker in favor of volume sales. While no official word has been given by Honda or Acura representatives, the news has been reported by Honda fan site, TOV, which claims that several dealerships have been told a new strategy will focus on “Smart Luxury.”

What “Smart Luxury” means is not exactly clear, however, additional dealer information does seem to point towards a higher volume sales and away from vehicles like the NSX. Acura will also continue with its plan to not offer a V8 in the RL, instead delivering it as a hybrid (assumedly with a V6) – which is likely to make V8 power. A new V6 engine is also in the works for many of the vehicles in Acura’s lineup, but the biggest news is that Honda’s luxury brand aims to bring a new entry-level car to market to slot in under the TSX.

While we’re obviously sad to hear about the future of the NSX, it’s refreshing to see Acura working with its strengths, namely, returning to building small fun-to-drive cars. And who knows, maybe this sub-TSX model is the necessary step in bringing back the RSX.

[Source: TOV]

Speaking to reporters at the Tokyo Auto Show, Honda CEO Takanobu Ito suggested that when the time is right he would like to build a “green” sports car. The Japanese automaker faces two big hurdles first, however: a lack of cash as well as insufficient technology. “Once we have that technology and once we have cash on hand, I would like to see Honda have a sports car that symbolizes our technology,” he told Automotive News.

While Honda is set to launch the compact hybrid CR-Z sports car next year, this new car would be a range-topping vehicle with optimum performance and fuel economy. Honda is struggling in the technology department, however, with hybrid systems that are much less efficient than competing systems.

Ito made the comments just after Toyota drew back the covers on its 560-hp Lexus LFA supercar, which uses “old fashioned” internal combustion technology. Earlier in the month he told Reuters that big displacement engines are nostalgic and that the people who like them are, “stuck in the past.” Knowing full well at the time that Toyota was about to debut its new V10-powered flagship, Ito professed that, “The era of V10 engines is gone.”

Until last year, Honda was in development of a V10-powered replacement to the Acura NSX, but Honda canned the project due economic concerns. The concept car’s harsh reviews by the automotive press also, no doubt, had a hand in the vehicle’s demise.

[Source: Automotive News]