Acura NSX Officially Priced At $156,000 - Will This Halo Car Fourish Or Fail In The Showroom?

Acura today announced additional launch details for the next-generation 2017 Acura NSX supercar, coming to market next spring, including pricing and the order taking process. Acura also revealed plans to auction off the very first serial production NSX, VIN 001, at the Barrett-Jackson collector car auction in Scottsdale, Ariz. the last week of January 2016. All proceeds from the auction sale will go to a pair of children's charities: the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation and Camp Southern Ground, the passion project of Grammy Award-winning artist Zac Brown.

Designed, developed and manufactured in America, the 2017 Acura NSX will have a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP)1 of $156,000 in the U.S. and will top out at $205,700 when equipped with all available factory features and options1. As Acura's first build-to-order vehicle, customers will be able to design their NSX by selecting one of eight rich exterior colors and four interior color schemes available in three different seating surface options. Customers can further customize their NSX through several exterior and interior features including three wheel designs with painted or polished finish, carbon-ceramic brake options, a carbon fiber interior sport package, carbon fiber roof, and more.

"The NSX is the pinnacle expression of Acura precision crafted performance and we're thrilled to take the next step toward bringing it to market," said Jon Ikeda, vice president and general manager of the Acura Division. "We're creating new space within the supercar realm, pushing the envelope beyond the conventional thinking about supercars – just like the original NSX."

Customer order taking for the new NSX will begin on Feb. 25, 2016 at authorized NSX retailers, in concert with the launch of a vehicle configurator on Acura.com. The configurator will be the first engagement point for customers interested in exploring the process of ordering a vehicle from an authorized NSX retailer and enthusiasts who want to configure their dream NSX. Once customers have customized their vehicle online, they can schedule an appointment with an authorized NSX retailer to finalize the order.

The 2017 NSX will be the first all-new Acura vehicle to be auctioned for the benefit of charitable organizations – certified to be the very first serial production NSX. The winner will be able to customize their NSX to their choosing.

"The very first production NSX will be such a special and historic vehicle, so we wanted to make sure we treat the sale of it in an equally special way," said Ikeda. "It will be available for purchase by anyone – anyone that is, who submits the highest bid for VIN number 001 at the world famous Barrett-Jackson auction. And we're pleased to be able to support two incredible children's charities, Camp Southern Ground and the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, with the NSX."

Agent009 - 12/18/2015 12:33:13 PM

-6 Boost

The NSX may do slightly better than the dismal failure of the LFA.

A quick search did find 3 new 2012 LFA still in inventories 3 years after it went on sale, far better than even a year ago. So the collector is finally snapping up the remaining models after that fact.

The NSX has in its favor a far lower price point that will bring in Corvette buyers and those seeking an entry level sports car.

However it suffers from a dated design (roughly 9 years old now) and a distinct lack of heritage. The same maladies that plagued the LFA.

Will it be a success? I say limited, but will never get back the investment that Honda wants.

The real problem is perception and a performance buyer will not consider Acura just like they ignored the LFA.

Heritage speaks volumes and there really isn't one here.

IhavearedS2000 - 12/18/2015 10:40:12 PM

+8 Boost

9 year old design? How do you figure? The concept for this current design was introduced in Detroit in 2012. All the other previous concepts looked very different...

nguyenvuminh - 12/18/2015 12:41:59 PM

+1 Boost

Awfully pricey for a brand that is not known as luxury/exotic. The original NSX was a success because of its Ferrari/Porsche-like performance at a much lower price threshold (throw in the daily practicality which was unique at the time). That and the Formula 1 success and Ayrton Senna and it was a revolution in the exotic car segment. Two decades later and the Acura brand is a far cry from its heyday so I don't think this will accomplish sales success nor brand re-establishment success.

MDarringer - 12/18/2015 5:46:52 PM

-8 Boost

The original NSX in no way was a success.

mre30 - 12/18/2015 9:33:31 PM

+1 Boost

Adjusted for inflation, the NSX in 1991 was about $80,000. If the new one is in the $160,000 range, the new one is actually a little cheaper in "real" terms.

TheSteve - 12/18/2015 1:45:53 PM

-4 Boost

It'll be neither a sales success, nor a collectable. If it was priced at $60,000, you'd get a very solid performance-to-dollar ratio that could compel a lot of drivers to overlook its shortcomings, like lack of heritage, and styling that looks both dated and like an economy-car manufacturer striving to look "rich," but not being able to pull it off.

MDarringer - 12/18/2015 5:47:30 PM

-6 Boost

It will be like the last NSX: an emperor's new clothes kind of vehicle

Sciros - 12/18/2015 3:53:25 PM

+5 Boost

It doesn't really need to sell terribly well. It needs to exist. The tech that it uses needs to trickle down to less-expensive models. Its image needs to bleed over into the rest of the Acura lineup and rebuild its reputation for sportiness+quality rolled into one. It would not even take much; the TL Type-S (and Integra Type R that we never got here) from a few years ago was exactly the kind of vehicle that Acura should have never let die; now it needs to perform a sort of resurrection.

The R8 and Porsche 911 and other cars in this range will continue to sell about as well as they always have. The NSX might steal some sales, or it might find a place in garages alongside other exotics. Whatever. As long as the car has a presence in car mags, websites, Facebook, Twitter, etc. it will benefit Acura tremendously.

cidflekken - 12/18/2015 4:29:00 PM

+6 Boost

If Acura wanted this car to be a volume sports car like the 911, it would have priced it accordingly.
This car really just needs to establish/re-establish Acura in the market. If it sells in volumes is irrelevant. If it performs on-par with or better than its peers is more critical, while advancing technology and execution. Even more critical will be Acura's follow up with future sedans, an S2000 successor, and the "baby" NSX. The fact that Acura wants a true flagship sedan bodes well for where their brain is at the moment.

This is a smarter strategy than Lexus' strategy with the LF-A. The LF-A was priced way too high and were scarcely seen anywhere. So when Lexus tried to switch to its new image and approach, it fell relatively flat and continues to do so. Just look at the IS and GS sales numbers relative to their peers. I still have yet to ever see an LF-A on the street and I live where Lambos, Ferraris, Astons, etc are a dime a dozen, literally.

MDarringer - 12/18/2015 5:46:22 PM

-8 Boost

This is an asinine strategy.

$75K would be a stretch for me to buy an Acura Fiero. This would have made a great Corvette-class product and if it were, then it would be a true halo for the brand.

Just like last time, the NSX and the rest of Honda's Japanese Mercury products have no connection other than that stupid beak.

Like the last NSX, the JDMtards will defend it to the death, but the Corvette and the 911 will no doubt spank the living crap out of it.

ptboy - 12/18/2015 6:10:58 PM

0 Boost

Under $100k would have been the way to go, undercutting the R8, 911, MB GTS, etc. Who would buy this over an AMG GTS btw? That said, it could help Acura as a halo car. While the LFA wasn't by an means a success, the trickle down of the styling to lower priced models, has helped Lexus. Styling is now more aggressive (for better or worse depending upon opinion) and it is reflected in their upswing in sales.

emiliojose - 12/18/2015 8:52:06 PM

0 Boost

At that price it's already a fail...

skytop - 12/18/2015 10:15:22 PM

-6 Boost

Reviews are not positive. Price is exorbitant.

IhavearedS2000 - 12/19/2015 8:34:18 AM

+7 Boost

The reviews are not negative either...did you rear Chris Harris' review for EVO? He called the NSX, for better or worse a baby Porsche 918 at 1/8 the price...

Yes you could compare this car to Corvettes and 911s but it has way more tech...

TheSteve - 12/19/2015 12:40:34 PM

0 Boost

I **SO** wish 'Spies had a voting page and archive, in which members could make predictions, such as "Will the new NSX be a sales success or failure within 3 years." All of us could put our opinions up for critique by others (as we do now), and then in 3 years, we could discover who was actually right. It would also be great to associate each screen name with successful prediction (e.g., 6/20=30%), to act as a sort of credibility meter :-)

My thoughts are inspired by the handful of Acura fans here that love their brand, and get pissed when someone else doesn't. But are they right?