Acura NSX Type S: The Hybrid Swansong
When Honda (Acura in North America) resurrected the legendary NSX nameplate in 2016, it was a technological marvel. The second-generation NC1 NSX abandoned the analog, naturally aspirated V6 purity of the 1990s original in favor of a staggeringly complex, triple-electric-motor, twin-turbocharged hybrid all-wheel-drive system.
It was a brilliantly capable car, often described as a “budget Porsche 918 Spyder.” However, it struggled to capture the emotional imagination of the supercar buying public, often criticized for being slightly too quiet, too polite, and too heavy.
In 2021, Honda announced they were ending production of the second-generation NSX. But they refused to let it go quietly. To celebrate the end of the line, they released the Acura NSX Type S. Limited to just 350 units globally, the Type S is the realization of the car’s ultimate potential—lighter, significantly faster, and substantially more aggressive.
Historical Context: The NSX’s Difficult Middle Act
The second-generation NSX had an unusual development arc. Announced at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show as a concept, it spent four years in development before finally arriving in showrooms in 2016—by which time Ferrari, McLaren, and Porsche had already launched their hybrid hypercar Holy Trinity (LaFerrari, P1, and 918 Spyder), raising the bar for what the press expected from a hybrid performance car.
The NC1 was developed in Honda’s Ohio R&D facility, built at the Marysville, Ohio performance manufacturing center, and sold as the Acura NSX in the US and Honda NSX everywhere else. This American development was unusual for what was fundamentally a Japanese supercar lineage, and it gave the car a character distinctly different from the original Japanese-developed NA1.
Critics found the base car competent but emotionally neutral. Its complexity—the three electric motors, the 9-speed dual-clutch, the sophisticated torque vectoring—felt more computational than visceral. Compared to the Ferrari 488 or McLaren 720S of the same era, the NSX felt like the work of engineers rather than drivers.
Honda’s engineers took this criticism seriously. The Type S exists specifically to address it.
The Powertrain: GT3 Hardware and 600 HP
The foundation of the NSX Type S remains the bespoke 3.5-liter, 75-degree twin-turbocharged V6 engine, mounted longitudinally behind the driver.
To increase power for the Type S, Honda engineers turned to the NSX GT3 Evo race car. They replaced the standard turbochargers with the high-flow turbos used in the racing program. These new turbos increased peak boost pressure by 5.6%. They also installed new fuel injectors capable of a 25% higher flow rate and upgraded the intercoolers to manage the extra heat.
The result is a bump in internal combustion output from 500 to 520 horsepower.
The hybrid system—consisting of a Direct Drive Motor attached to the V6, and a Twin Motor Unit (TMU) powering the front axle—was also optimized. The battery capacity was increased by 20%, and the battery output was raised by 10%.
Combined, the total system output was raised to a beautifully rounded 600 horsepower and 492 lb-ft of torque.
Re-Tuning the SH-AWD and Gearbox
Horsepower is only part of the story. The true genius of the NSX is its Sport Hybrid Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) system.
Because the front wheels are driven entirely by two independent electric motors, the car can actively vector torque. It can overdrive the outside front wheel while simultaneously applying negative torque (regenerative braking) to the inside front wheel. This physically pulls the nose of the heavy car into the apex, completely neutralizing understeer.
For the Type S, this system was recalibrated to be much more aggressive, allowing for higher cornering limits. Furthermore, the 9-speed dual-clutch transmission was completely re-programmed. Shift times were reduced by 50%, and a new “Rapid Downshift” feature allows the driver to hold the left paddle and instantly drop to the lowest possible gear, rather than clicking through them sequentially.
The recalibration extended to all four drive modes: Quiet, Sport, Sport+, and Track. In Track mode, the Type S’s behavior is fundamentally transformed—the torque vectoring becomes more aggressive, the dampers stiffen, and the throttle mapping sharpens to a degree that reveals how much the standard car had been holding back in the interest of everyday civility.
Design: Sharpened Aerodynamics
Aesthetically, the standard NSX was somewhat restrained. The Type S rectifies this with a vastly more aggressive, aero-focused design that finally gives the car the visual presence its performance deserves.
The most obvious change is the front fascia. The grille is significantly larger and more angular, improving cooling airflow to the radiators. The front bumper features aggressive dive planes and a massive carbon-fiber front splitter to increase downforce.
At the rear, a new carbon-fiber diffuser, styled directly after the GT3 race car, efficiently manages the air exiting from underneath the car. A standard carbon-fiber roof lowers the center of gravity and reinforces the sporting intent visually.
The overall result is a car that actually looks like 600 horsepower—something the base NSX, for all its capability, never fully achieved.
The Lightweight Package
To further sharpen the dynamics, Acura offered an optional Lightweight Package for the Type S (costing an additional $13,000).
This package stripped 26.2 kg (58 lbs) from the curb weight by adding:
- Carbon-Ceramic Brakes (Brembo)
- A carbon-fiber engine cover
- Carbon-fiber interior trim
To connect the car to the road, the Type S was fitted with bespoke, incredibly sticky Pirelli P-Zero tires (specifically designed with an “H0” marking for Honda) mounted on new, forged 5-spoke alloy wheels that widened the track slightly for better stability.
Performance and Comparison with Rivals
The Acura NSX Type S accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in under 2.9 seconds—a figure that puts it in the same territory as the Porsche 911 Turbo S and McLaren GT. But the headline number undersells what the car can do.
On a technical road course, the SH-AWD system’s torque vectoring creates a chassis dynamic that feels more capable than the weight would suggest. The Type S weighs approximately 1,760 kg (3,880 lbs) with the battery and hybrid system—significantly more than a McLaren 720S or Ferrari F8 at similar price points. Yet lap times frequently surprise those who expect the hybrid system to be a liability.
Against the McLaren Artura or Ferrari 296 GTB—both later hybrid sports cars that explicitly adopted the triple-motor torque vectoring architecture that the NSX pioneered—the Type S remains competitive while offering a level of daily usability that neither European car fully matches. In Quiet mode, it can leave a garage at 6 AM without waking the neighbors. No Ferrari can make that claim.
A Sold-Out Sendoff
Of the 350 units built, 300 were allocated specifically to the United States (badged as Acuras), with the remaining 50 sent to the rest of the world (badged as Hondas). The entire allocation sold out within minutes of the announcement—faster than any Acura product had ever sold out in the brand’s history.
The NSX Type S is the car the second-generation NSX always should have been from the start. The GT3 Evo turbochargers, the 20% larger battery, the 50%-faster-shifting DCT recalibration, and the sharper aerodynamics transformed a capable but emotionally muted car into one that could leave a garage at 6 AM without waking the neighbours and still post competitive times against turbocharged European rivals on circuit. Of the 350 units built, all sold out within minutes of the announcement — faster than any Acura product in the brand’s history.
Collector Significance
Low-mileage Type S examples have already begun appreciating in value. The combination of 350-unit production, end-of-model-line status, the highest-specification version of a historically significant nameplate, and the increasingly recognized importance of the NSX’s hybrid architecture to the current generation of sports cars all contribute to long-term collector appeal.
The NSX Type S is, paradoxically, both the end of an era and a preview of the direction the entire industry has since followed. Its legacy will grow as perspective accumulates.