DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The stadium lights cast a bright white light on the runway as I pulled the power off the field and into the NASCAR bank first at the Daytona International Expressway in 2022 Acura NSX TYPE TYPE. Gravity quickly went from normal to feeling like I was being pressed down by a compressor. I crept downhill from the top of the Daytona’s 31-degree incline and sat in the middle, pedaling right down and keeping the wheel steady. I quickly learned that last part wasn’t necessary, as the bank held the car in place without much impact on steering.
An immersive and melodious note blew through the cabin as I was in the garage exiting NASCAR 2. Chicane bus stop (recently renamed .) Le Mans Chicane for this year’s Rolex 24) arrives quickly and with little warning when you have 600 hp hustling there and it’s probably the worst-lit corner on the track – ironic, considering you’re going as fast as anywhere in Daytona before having to apply brake. A loud noise, brap, brap, brap accompanied by a slowdown. I smashed the rumbling strips while exiting the trash, and returned to the oval to continue in the compactor NASCAR 3 and 4.
And that’s it, my one and only one-year flight NSX Type S ends. Back in the pit lane, I was trying to process what just happened, but was reduced to one-word exclamations due to the rush of adrenaline. Pilot anything on the track at Daytona Road at night is a bucket list, a dream come true moment for a racing enthusiast and I’ve just done it in an Acura mid-engine supercar. Turns out, hundreds of hours of gameplay Gran Turismo and the dream finally pays off.
This short and high speed track is our first time new-for-2022 NSX Type WILL. Acura says there will be more seats in the future, but we have to do with this quick taste for the time being. That said, even if you wanted to at this point, your chances of buying a new NSX Type S are nil. NSX’s Swan Song – yes, this is the last model of the NSX – sold out in just a few minutes, and all that’s left is the waiting list. Acura is building 350 in total, with 300 allotted to the United States. There won’t be NSX “standard” for 2022, so it’s an S $171,495 or nothing at all.
Despite its rarity and short lifespan, it’s surprising how much effort Acura has gone to to improve the NSX’s complex and triple-engined engine. mixture system. The standard car’s 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 has been upgraded with a turbocharger direct from racing car GT3 Evo. To complement that, it also has new fuel injectors with 25% more flow rate and a new mid-cooler with 15% more heat dissipation. The engine is now contributing 520 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque to the reciprocating motion, up 20 and 37, respectively.
Acura then upgraded the NSX “Twin Motor Unit” that powers the front wheels by reducing the gear ratio from 10.38:1 to 8.05:1. This effectively gives the car more model. – Torque is directly out of the line, meaning starting is even harder than before. Those electric motors pull the car through and out of the Daytona’s Horseshoe with the safe and reliable visceral force expression we’ve been using since the NSX. The the battery Power supply for these motors has also been upgraded with 10% greater capacity and 20% higher power usage. Due to the nature of this drive, I didn’t get a chance to test the Type S’s improved battery-only hybrid operation, but the upgrades should result in less engine use in “Silent” mode. effective.
Total system power is now rated at 600 horsepower and 492 pound-feet of torque, and even in just one lap the difference in forward thrust is noticeable. I don’t expect a drastic change in acceleration time (Acura only stipulates “under 3.0 seconds” though Standard NSX estimated 2.9 seconds), but putting the foot down leaves you with little doubt that the Type S will charge from corner to corner more difficult than the regular NSX.
Another important upgrade made to the Type S concerns the transmission. The nine-speed dual-clutch automatic is retuned and it engages the clutch 50% faster when the paddle is pressed. This means more immediate response and quicker reflexes to your rowing movements. In addition to faster gearshifts, the Type S also features a new “Quick Downshift” mode that automatically puts you down to the lowest possible gear when you hold the shift lever down. The new program also rapidly downshifts in auto when you apply brake force – for example, when you’re warming up on a curved entryway to shift into first gear – and the rev threshold for manually pulling the lever is increased. up 1,500 rpm, allowing you to pull down gears faster than bring the hand higher on the tachometer.
Most notable on the road is how the automatic transmission intelligently sets up for every situation in automatic mode. It breaks down change with what sounds like a bit of violence in the form of staccato pops. This increase in cabin mass is also the most obvious new experience in the Type S from the early days. The V6’s lack of emotion and drama is one of the standard NSX’s most common complaints. It wasn’t fixed with a new exhaust, but Acura says they’ve reimplemented the car’s “Audio Intake Control” (essentially removing the actual noise entering the cabin) and “Master Acoustic Control.” dynamic” (artificially creating and/or enhancing cabin noise). Anyone who’s driven a regular NSX will notice the creaking of intakes is more audible and the extra volume inside the cabin both on throttle and with each shift.
Last in the field of NSX powertrain upgrades is the SH-AWD system, which has been tweaked to take advantage of the front engine as well as the engine’s additional thrust and power. Of course, this all-wheel drive system is so closely tied to the NSX’s handling that you can’t talk about one without the other. The Type S really is a whole car’s work, so of course Acura’s engineers worked on the suspension, wheels/tires, steering adjustments and more.
Unfortunately, the limited follow-up period makes it impossible for us to draw any definite conclusions about the improvements. That said, the breadth of changes leads me to believe we’ll experience a noticeable difference in road behavior when we drive one off the track.
For now, know that Type S recalibrated dampers with a larger range of stiffness depending on the mode. That means it’s still designed to be comfortable in road modes, but stiffer than before in Track Mode. The new forged alloy wheels are set with more negative deflection, extending the front track by 0.4 inches and the rear track by 0.8 inches, respectively. The wheels are then wrapped in Pirelli P-Zero summer performance tires made specifically for the Type S that were not previously available on the standard NSX. Acura claims the increased track and new tires allow for 6% more lateral grip. To quantify that and the extra power, Acura says the NSX Type S runs 2 seconds faster around the Suzuka Circuit in Japan.
There’s one main performance package available, the $13,000 Light Pack fitted to our track car that reduces curb weight by 57.8 pounds from an unannounced figure. The standard 2021 NSX lifts the scale at 3,878 pounds. Most of the savings (and hefty price tag) come from the carbon-ceramic brakes, but the Light Weight Package also gives you a carbon fiber engine cover and carbon accents on the steering wheel and instrument cluster hood. All other optional carbon fiber extras on the regular NSX are standard on the Type S, the most important of which is a carbon roof that reduces the center of gravity. Type S-exclusive Gotham Gray Matte paint (pictured above) adds another $6,000.
The new Type S front end ensures that everyone knows this NSX is different from the rest and its new design is functionally better than before. Acura says the more angled intakes, front spoiler and larger diffuser will do a better job of minimizing lift and making the Type S more stable at high speeds. Airflow to the cooler is also enhanced, ensuring stronger engine cooling.
Of course, a lap at Daytona didn’t even come close to testing this car’s heat resistance. However, it does provide compelling evidence that this NSX Type S is indeed the best performing NSX in every way while remaining true to its purpose as an everyday supercar. Navigating out of the pit just inches from the Wall of Champions is an objectively stressful situation, but the NSX’s expansive forward visibility makes it even easier. The walls of the Daytona on the ballpark loom in race-grade darkness, but the NSX makes maneuvering a stupidly fast car on this grand track remarkably easy with the powertrain. Its basic four-wheel anti-deception. This is the most point-and-shoot supercar in the game and it will make 350 people laugh as they get behind the wheel.
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