Lotus Esprit vs. Honda NSX

[AuspeX]

I prefer the elise, it just looks awesome:

[Sideways Spanky]

Hate to say it, but I'm gonna have to disagree with some of you guys. I'd take the NSX in a heartbeat. Light weight, 6-cylinder VTEC kicks just about anything elses *Censored**Censored**Censored* on the road. It's a true drivers car. Anyone seen that video with a NSX-R racing against a Murciealago, F360, Skyline GT-R, Gallardo, and the Evolution MR? Serious *Censored**Censored**Censored*-kicking going on.

[faz]

uh..its lotus espirit and nsx..not elise..but yes the elise does look tight..

[nedinic]

my uncle has a 2001 Espirit, i got a ride in it and its all power, 4-8. I heard people say Nsx have reall good handling but im 17 so i never got to drive one...

[Octagon]

Best Motoring is also about as far as you can get from serious motor journalism. They don't test cars under controlled equal conditions and are more than willing to produce a Japan-favoring result.

In reality, the cold hard facts of the NSX's lack of motorsport success outside of JGTC (the only other notable race wins for the NSX have come from Realtime Racing's car, which in its final year needed a Vortech supercharger to stay competitive against Audi S4's) disprove that it's a "superior handling machine". Honda built the NSX with the concept of a more civilised, more reliable, easier to drive Ferrari 328GTB thinking that they would win sales from Ferrari by offering a more consumer friendly product.

The project has failed miserably from a sales standpoint, with new NSX sales occasionally dropping below 100 units. It's also failed from a status standpoint, as the NSX - even as a CART pace car - has not created the aura around Acura of being an elite luxury brand, nor the image of sterling world beating performance.

The NSX is and always has been a flawed car that Honda's pride forces them to keep around. To even consider it to be in the company of true exotics like the Ferrari Modena or Lotus Espirit is ludicrous and shameful to the Ferrari and Lotus.

[Parry]

Octagon throwing down, lol.

He's right. The NSX is for people who just want to look the part. The definition of a salad wagon.

[Sideways Spanky]

Give me an NSX, and you can take out any other car in the price range, and we'll touge battle, drift, or road course, and I'll kick your *Censored**Censored**Censored*. Not be cause of my driving skills, (or lack of), but because the NSX is an insanely fast car, and it'll out-handle most anything on the road. As I said, watch this video.

http://forum.ebaumsworld.com/showthread.php?t=27994

[Wayne]

isnt it true that the nsx-r ran the fastest time of any stock car at tskuba circut ? hrmm think about that guys, i doubt an espirit would even come close to the times the nsx put up on the big track.

both cars suck anyways, get an fd ahaha just kidding. but someone correct me if im wrong but the car is soo close to running it in like a minute 5 or sum *Censored**Censored**Censored**Censored*

[Octagon]

$89,000 is the list price of a brand new Acura NSX, right? Well, that buys you this amount of performance.

0-60 mph: 4.9 sec
0-100 mph: 11.7 sec
Quarter Mile: 13.4 sec @ 106 mph
Skidpad: .91g
Top Speed: 175 mph
Braking, 60-0 mph: 117 ft
Slalom Speed: 65.8 mph

A brand new Corvette will set you back a far less $43,445. That lands you this much performance.

0-60 mph: 4.3 sec
0-100 mph: 10.2 sec
Quarter Mile: 12.7 sec @ 112 mph
Skidpad: .95g
Top Speed: 186 mph
Braking, 60-0 mph: 110 ft
Slalom Speed: 66.2 mph

And now here's the real kick in the teeth for all of you people who're still insisting that the NSX is such an amazing automobile. You can walk out the door with a Dodge SRT-10 Viper for $79,995. That nets you this much performance....

0-60 mph: 3.9 sec
0-100 mph: 8.3 sec
Quarter Mile: 11.77 sec @ 123.6 mph
Skidpad: 1.05g
Top Speed: 190 mph
Braking, 60-0 mph: 97 ft
Slalom Speed: 70.4 mph

Naturally, the straight-line performance of the two Yankees is out of the ballpark for the V6 NSX, but what's really telling of where this failed experiment in producing a Japanese exotic lost face is not only the fact that the 9k cheaper Viper pulls .09 g's more, but that the Corvette nails down a .04g advantage over the NSX while costing $45,555 LESS!

Never you mind that this is without the available Z51 sport suspension package and that the track oriented Z06 Corvette is still two years away.

And we won't even begin to talk about how embarassed the NSX is in the slalom speeds, a measure of how composed the car is in transitions and how much grip is inherent to the chassis. Or how both the Vette and the Viper outbrake the NSX by VERY noticable margins (7 and 20 feet respectively)

Let's even have a little fun with Dodge SRT-4 stats against the NSX. This humble little $19,995 compact sedan puts up these numbers compared to the $69,005 more expensive NSX.

(SRT-4 on the left, NSX on the right)

0-60 mph: 5.3 sec < 0-60 mph: 4.9 sec
0-100 mph: 13.4 sec < 0-100 mph: 11.7 sec
Quarter Mile: 13.9 sec @ 103 mph < 13.4 sec @ 106 mph
Skidpad: .86g < .91g
Top Speed: 153 mph < 175mph
Braking, 60-0 mph: 119 ft < 117ft
Slalom Speed: 69.0 mph > 65.8mph

Strange, the NSX has a clear cut advantage to 100mph, and MR always beats FF on the skidpad, but when it comes time for the brakes and the suspesion to really work, the NSX can only do the SRT-4 two feet better in braking from 60 and is a full 3mph SLOWER through the slalom.

The NSX is NOT a world beater. The numbers don't lie (unlike Best Motoring's questionable false journalism). The NSX has a bit of trouble when being compared to a hotted-up FF economy sedan that costs 69k less, and falls flat on its face compared to the American exotics from Dodge and Chevy.

[tonesdef]

the esprit is a a pig that handles worse than most cars in its class. I've seen through BM videos the nsx R handing ferraris and lambos there *Censored**Censored**Censored* over and over. If anything i would go with the elise i have seen many vids of one keeping up with f50's on turns. The elise will out run and out handle both of those cars.

[Octagon]

Might as well post numbers for the $71,000 Lotus Espirit V8, too.

Wow, who'd have thunk there's so many high class sports cars under the price of an Acura NSX.

0-60 mph: 4.4 sec
0-100 mph: 11.0 sec
Quarter Mile: 13.0 sec @ 112 mph
Skidpad: .93g
Top Speed: 175 mph
Braking, 60-0 mph: 125 ft
Slalom Speed: 68.3 mph

That's .02 higher g's on the skidpad and 2.5mph faster through the slalom. To be fair, the NSX does outbrake the Espirit by a fair distance, though.

[Wayne]

right i understand all that, but im not tlaking about all these statistics, im talking about the nsx on tskuba circut arguably one of the toughest tracks. anything under a minute is of course blazingly fast and the fastest car ran a 53.something or other, now take a stock car and running 1.0 flat or what ever is amazing for a stock car. take a viper or z06 and try to do the same, i doubt you can pal

[Wayne]

Originally posted by Octagon
(unlike Best Motoring's questionable false journalism

you should really take it easy on bm, i doubt the journalism is false buddy, i just think that its a littel far fromt eh truth sometime, the nsx-r and the nsx are two totally different beasts my friend. nsx-r destorys most cars stock vers stock thats all im trying to say, your descridting the nsx, but find th enumbers for the nsx type r and than say something. peace

[Octagon]

Well, I've searched high and low on the net and I haven't located any independent tests of the NSX Type R. So if you have the stats I'd certainly like to see them, alongside of the cost of the car so I can compare it to its equals.

Oh, and by the way, Tsukuba is not a difficult circuit. I'd rank Fuji as trickier than Tsukuba as Fuji actually follows natural terrain as opposed to Tsukuba's flat expanse. It's basically the difference between Spa-Francorchamps (which is trickier than either of them) and one of the Tilke-designed craptacular circuits like Hungaroring or Sepang.

Good challenging courses have a natural flow to them decided by the natural geography. This is why tracks like Mid-Ohio, Elkhart Lake, and Watkins Glen have been around for so long.

[Parry]

Wow, BlueDragon you need to stop the jokes. Best Motoring is not impartial, and their tests although entertaining are hardly the pinnacle of the scientific method. If you like the NSX better that is great, but that doesn't make it a superior performing car. I like old Volkswagens better than, say, SRT-4's but I don't go around kidding myself that a mk1 or mk2 VW will hang with an SRT-4 without a ton of dough under the hood.

Octagon nailed exactly what I was going to say, repeatedly. Good job.

If you don't think the Viper or Z06 will do what the NSX does at Tsukuba you are in denial. They offer superior performance in almost every category for less money. As far as the "vtec v6", displacement makes power and to my ears the Vette sounds so much sweeter than anything built by Honda...ever. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen either the Corvette or the Viper tested by Best Motoring. Perhaps they don't want their champion getting it's nuts torn out it's rear by a much cheaper American car. Nah, no way.