One Icon Pays Tribute To Another
Here’s a mashup we weren’t expecting. Italdesign-Giugiaro—the Italian styling house responsible for everything from the Lotus Esprit and Maserati Bora to the original Volkswagen Golf and Hyundai Pony—is planning a tribute to the Honda NSX (or Acura NSX to Americans) the Japanese supercar that kept the marquee European names honest back in the 1990s.
Italdesign
Italdesign announced the project with a Facebook post, but without much actual information. It showed an image of the Honda and NSX logos alongside its own with the caption “A tribute to an iconic car. More to come.” The NSX logo is the one from the first-generation car, so we do at least know this is a full-on retro tribute.
It’s At Odds With History
In addition to setting styling trends with its own production and concept cars, Italdesign also knows how to rework existing designs. In 2018, the firm created the Nissan GT-R50 to celebrate the GT-R’s 50th anniversary, which eventually went into limited production. And after Ford launched the retro-styled fifth-generation Mustang in 2005, Italdesign quickly came up with its own take in the form of the Giugiaro Mustang.
However, fans of the NSX might find Italdesign doing a modern tribute to the 1990s supercar odd. That’s because the original NSX drew styling inspiration from the 1984 Honda HP-X concept, which was designed by rival Italian firm Pininfarina. HP-X stands for Honda Pininfarina eXperimental, and it set the template for the NSX with a wedge shape and mid-mounted V6 engine (actually based on an F2 racing engine).
Will There Be Another NSX?
Honda
A styling tribute is one thing, but will there be a third-generation NSX production car? Rumors have swirled since the second-generation NSX left showrooms in 2022. In 2024, Honda global executive vice president Shinji Aoyama said the automaker would launch an “NSX-type of vehicle” with an electric powertrain, which would be a logical progression from the gasoline first generation and hybrid second generation. Honda’s planned shift toward more hybrids now makes another hybrid NSX more likely, but nothing has been confirmed yet.
