Honda's longtime U.S. manufacturing base of Ohio snags the future plant that will build the upcoming Acura NSX.
The next generation of the famed supercar will begin production in Marysville, OH, in 2015, Honda says. No specific timing for the Job One launch is revealed during a conference-call backgrounder with Honda executives yesterday, ahead of this morning’s announcement.
The NSX will be built in a former Honda logistics facility adjacent to the auto maker’s Honda Accord/Acura TL assembly plant.
The new plant also is near Honda's U.S. research and development operations in Raymond, OH, which, along with an R&D unit in Los Angeles, is the engineering nerve center for the next-gen NSX.
“The location of this facility is in the midst of one of the greatest collections of engineering and production talent in the world, so it makes sense that we will renew the dream and build this high-tech, supercar in Marysville, OH,” says Hidenobu Iwata, president & CEO of Honda of America and the head of the auto maker’s manufacturing operations in North America.
Honda is investing $70 million to establish a “Performance Manufacturing Center” for the NSX, which will employ 100 "highly skilled" workers, many to be pulled from the Japanese auto maker's existing Ohio operations.
Says Clement D'Souza, associate chief engineer for the NSX: “This new plant will be as unique as the vehicle we will build here. In creating the plan for this plant, we looked closely at each process and determined the perfect blend of associate craftsmanship and technology to adopt a new approach to manufacturing.”
Honda's nearby Anna, OH, plant will assemble the NSX's powertrain, which Acura has said will be a direct-injected, mid-mounted V-6 gasoline engine mated to the auto maker’s 3-motor Sport Hybrid Super-Handling All-Wheel-Drive hybrid system.
D'Souza, along with Ted Klaus, Honda R&D Americas chief engineer, leads the NSX's development team.
The NSX will have a "multi-material body," Klaus says during the conference call, but he is unable to specify what percentage may be lightweight materials such as aluminum or carbon fiber.
D'Souza says the auto maker still is trying to estimate demand for the future NSX, so the capacity of the new plant has yet to be determined.
WardsAuto data shows the record year for the prior-generation NSX was 1991 with 1,940 units sold.
D'Souza promises the new NSX plant will be a full production site, with stamping, welding, paint and vehicle-quality departments.
Honda says it will export the supercar to other markets, but doesn't specify likely destinations.
From its introduction in 1990 through 2005 the NSX was built only in Japan, first at the Takanezawa plant in Tochigi and then in Suzuka.
