Et Tu Honda?

I was angry when I first saw pictures and specs for the new Nissan GT-R. I knew what it was going to be, and it made me angry. I like sports cars, but that doesn't mean that I like cars that only know how to go fast. The GT-R only knows how to go fast, and at that, it is very talented. A time of 7:29 around Germany's Nurbergring is something about which Nissan can brag for years.

It's how the Nissan accomplishes this feat that gets my ire up. The car has to do most of the driving itself. Sure, the pilot does things like turn the wheel, and slam on the pedals (both of them), but those, along with the transmission paddles aren't so much controls anymore as they are a collective suggestion box. The car takes the information you give it about what you'd like to see happen in an upcoming corner, and then shuffles torque, applies brakes, firms up or softens damping, and sets a rear wheel angle or two until it can deliver that. At no point does the car demand anything of the drive other than knowledge of the basic route the road takes. The other side of this is that, despite being a rather practical 2+2 coupe, the car has some really incredible limitations. It's big, really big. It's thirsty too, in an age of $5.00 a gallon gas, I'm not too sure I like the idea of a car that usually returns economy numbers in the teens. And there are equipment issues which simply cannot be ignored. For example, the tires are filled with dried Nitrogen, not air. Air, you see, expands when it gets hot, Nitrogen does so to a much smaller degree and thus the car avoids some issues with the tires that usually cause lack of grip. Have you ever thought about where you'd get dried nitrogen? Have you ever heard of dried Nitrogen?

All this sucks because for a long time the GT-R was the car that proved how well high-tech could be tuned to deliver a great, non-synthetic driving experience. For longer than that, it's been a performance and driving icon, dating back to the PGC-10 of the late 60s. The NSX on the other hand is a relative newcomer. Sure, it's been around for fifteen plus years, but there's really only been the one model, continually upgraded and delivering a driving experience that, in its day, taught names like Ferrari what they were doing wrong. It too has always been a high-tech car, but one that flaunted its technology in terms of materials and engineering, not simply letting electronics take over and make the car faster. In that sense it's always been one of my favorite cars, and one who's influence on the industry can still be felt today.

And so it was with not a little anger that I read in the news this morning that Honda has set a rather predictable target for the NSX replacement when it debuts in about two years, the GT-R's 7:29 time around the ring. It's a huge target, don't get me wrong, and it will mean a total re think of the way Honda's flagship performance car is engineered. Gone will be the pure and responsive mid-ship engine layout, along with rear-wheel drive. The aluminum platform may still be used, but lightness will not be among the car's virtues. In place of the venerable v-tec equipped 3.2 liter V6, there will be a 5.5 liter V10, and 550bhp. It's all too much for me, and I can't think that, were he alive today, this is the path that Soichiro Honda would like to see his company take. Here was an engineer, a man whos engines were always small and efficient, his cars light, and agile.

I still want an NSX. I still want a KPGC-10 GTR as well, but I don't think I'll ever want either of these cars. I don't want a car that does everything for me. I don't want to be taken out of the process like that, and I don't like the infancy brought on by all the weight these systems bring with them. Isn't it time? Isn't it time for sports cars that are neither heavy weight computer simulators, nor stripped out, super light specials? What's happened, where are the sports coupes we used to drive around in? Where are the Preludes and 24oSXs, the GT-6s and GTVs? Neither cheap, nor expensive, these cars allowed driving fun for many people who simply have no option anymore. Why is it that only the rich get to enjoy driving? And then only at speeds they cannot possibly control, thus needing the car to enjoy driving for them...

UPDATE: Two days in and Honda already seem dangerously close to getting their wish. The NSX replacement is being unoffically timed at 7:37... joy.