Acura confirms NSX-like EV sportscar for production in ’27-28
Acura will make an “NSX-type” electric sportscar, expecting to bring it to market in 2027 or 2028, says Acura Global Executive VP Shinji Aoyama.
The Honda NSX sportscar, which was sold in the US as the Acura NSX, made a splash in the 90s and was popular for its styling, handling, and its use of some new technologies like an aluminum monocoque. Its name stood for “New Sportscar eXperimental,” showing Honda’s intent to dive into future technologies with the model.
Then, Acura brought the NSX back in 2016, this time with a 500+hp hybrid powertrain. However, with no plug-in capability at all, and coming somewhat late to market compared to previous plug-in entries like the Tesla Roadster and Porsche 918, the “New NSX” lost some of its “eXperimental” sheen (Honda said the name now meant “New Sports eXperience”). That model ended production in 2022.
But it looks like Acura may be ready to bring its sportscar chops back into the present, with an all-electric “NSX-type” sportscar coming soon.
Yesterday at Monterey Car Week in California, Aoyama told journalists that an NSX-like vehicle will hit the road in ’27-28. He did, however, stop short of saying that the vehicle will be called the NSX, just that it will be a similar style of car.
Acura has already shown an NSX-like concept before. At the last iteration of Monterey Car Week, it teased an “Electric Vision” concept with NSX-like looks, though hadn’t said anything at the time about whether or when it might come to production. It was just a “design study.”
Acura would use Honda’s “0 series” architecture, which is being developed for Honda’s first electric sedan, meant to hit the road in 2026. The focus is on keeping the architecture “thin and light.” Honda wants to ensure that the battery isn’t too tall, because a thinner battery means more cabin space (in a sedan), or lower to the ground (in a sportscar).
Honda/Acura have released one BEV so far in the US, in the form of the Prologue/ZDX. However, this vehicle does not use a Honda platform, and instead is built on GM’s Ultium platform. Honda’s other EV in the US is the CR-V e:FCEV, which has an all electric drivetrain but can be fueled either via a plug or by hydrogen, and is only available in California.
Honda has also partnered with Sony on its AFEELA prototype, which is supposed to come out in 2026.
Electrek’s Take
As a Tesla Roadster owner, I’m a fan of EV sportscars. I don’t need the insane performance and horsepower of a 1,025hp Rivian Ascend Quad Max or an 8.56s quarter-mile Model S Plaid, what I want is something small and light.
And there just aren’t many options for that. Part of the reason for this is because batteries are heavy, so it’s hard to make a light EV. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible – my car is 2,800lbs, and there’s even an electric four-seater available with the same curb weight. (For reference, the original NSX was ~3,000lbs, and the new NSX was ~3,800lbs)
We don’t know yet what form the “NSX-type” EV will take, whether it will be a two door or four door (the previous NSX incarnations have had two doors, and two seats), or any other technologies it will include.
But Aoyama’s comments about keeping it “light” are heartening. This means it may come in closer to the Roadster, or the Caterham Project V, rather than the 4,000lb, four-door Porsche Taycan. Not that there’s anything wrong with the Taycan’s performance, but it’s hard to make a four door that handles like a two door.
And while Honda is late to the party on EVs, it may not be late to the party on EV sportscars. If they can crack the nut of making a reasonably light, sporty EV at a somewhat accessible price point (the new NSX started at $156k in 2017… so maybe not all that accessible), that could be a big statement for the EV industry at the whole. And we’re excited to hear more about it.
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Mitsubishi is partnering with Ample and Yamoto Transports to deploy an innovative new battery swap network for electric cars in its Japanese home market — but it’s not just for electric cars. Mitsubishi Fuso commercial trucks are getting in on the action, too!
Despite a number of early EV adopters with an overdeveloped concept of ownership, battery swap technology has proven to be both extremely effective and extremely positive to the overall EV ownership experience. And when you see how simple it is to add hundreds of miles of driving in just 100 seconds — quicker, in many cases, than pumping a tank of liquid fuel into an ICE-powered car — you might come around, yourself.
That seems to be what Mitsubishi thinks, anyway, and they’re hoping they’ll be your go-to choice when it’s time to electrify your regional and last-mile commercial delivery fleet(s) by launching a multi-year pilot program to deploy more than 150 battery-swappable commercial electric vehicles and 14 modular battery swapping stations across Tokyo, where the company plans to showcase its “five minute charging” tech in full view of hundreds of commercial fleets and, crucially, the executives of the companies that own and manage them.
A truck like the Mitsubishi eCanter typically requires a full night of AC charging to top off its batteries, and at least an hour or two on DC charging in Japan, according to Fuso. This joint pilot by Mitsubishi, Mitsubishi Fuso Trucks, and Ample aims to circumvent this issue of forced downtime with its swappable batteries, supporting vehicle uptime by delivering a full charge within minutes. The move is meant to encourage the transport industry’s EV shift while creating a depository of stored energy that can be deployed to the grid in the event of a natural disaster — something Mitsubishi in Japan has been working on for years.
Trucks like the eCanter already serve a number of roles throughout the global truck market, including municipal waste collection, regional delivery support, and more.
The pilot is backed by Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s “Technology Development Support Project for Promoting New Energy,” with local delivery operator Yamato Transport testing swappable EVs for delivery operations on both its eCanter light-duty trucks and Mitsubishi Minicab kei-class electric vans.
Electrek’s Take
Electrifying the commercial truck fleet is a key part of decarbonizing city truck fleets – not just here in the US, but around the world. I called the eCanter, “a great product for moving stuff around densely packed city streets,” and eliminating the corporate fear of EV charging in the wild just makes it an even better product for that purpose.
Here’s hoping we see more “right size” electric solutions like this one (and more battery swapping tech) in small towns and tight urban environments stateside somewhat sooner than later.
SOURCES | IMAGES: Mitsubishi, Fuso.
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After becoming the first European brand to offer fully electric versions of every model it sells — and at the same price as the ICE models — Opel is going even further, with a new, AWD electric SUV that should give American Jeep fans hope for a new electric Cherokee!
Now part of the Stellantis, rather than GM portfolio of brands, Rüsselsheim-based Opel showed off the first official pictures of its new Opel Grandland Electric AWD — the company’s first all-electric SUV to feature the “Blitz” performance emblem and all-wheel drive.
“Our top-of-the-range Grandland SUV is a milestone for Opel,” says Opel CEO Florian Huettl. “Customers already have a choice of battery-electric drive, plug-in hybrid and hybrid with 48-volt technology. We are now offering even more choice with the Grandland Electric AWD and thus ensuring that our customers can enjoy maximum efficiency and safety in diverse weather and road conditions, combined with plenty of driving fun.”
Stellantis gets it right in Europe
Opel says its new, AWD Grandland is its most aerodynamically efficient model yet, with a drag coefficient (Cd) of just 0.278. That efficiency, paired with similarly efficient electric motors and a 73 kWh li-ion NMC battery give the electric crossover a 501 km (311 mile) WLTP range, while a combined 325 hp and 375 lb-ft of torque should make for suitably spirited acceleration to go along with all that green cred.
Suspension and handling, too, are promised to deliver on what Opel claims is a “typical” Teutonic driving experience in the Grandland AWD:
Both driving pleasure and comfort are further emphasized by dampers with frequency selective damping technology. This unique technology comes as standard on the Grandland Electric AWD and incorporates a second hydraulic circuit in the damper chamber to mechanically adapt the damping force in relation to the frequency. Depending on the situation, road surface conditions and driving style, it enables different damping characteristics for comfortable gliding at high frequencies – i.e. with short impacts such as on cobblestones or a manhole cover – as well as for a sporty, ambitious driving style with more direct contact with the road at low frequencies. The Grandland reacts even more immediately and directly to any command from the driver and, as is typical for Opel, remains stable when braking, cornering and at high speeds on the Autobahn.
OPEL PRESS RELEASE
The Opel Grandland Electric AWD ships with four standard drive modes that include “normal,” eco, sport, and 4WD mode, which simulates locking axles and true 4×4 off-road performance. The ESP and traction control systems adopt specific settings to enhance grip in 4WD mode as well, and maximum power and torque are instantly available.
Electrek’s Take
As you maybe could tell by now, feeding European Stellantis EVs into an AI image generator and asking it to “make them into Jeeps” is one of my new favorite things to do. This new Opel is no different, and the resulting image (above) paired with the models’ stated specs give me hope that the next wave of Jeep EVs will do better than the Wagoneer S at attracting buyers. All they really need, I think, is the right name — and the right price, to be winners.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Opel.
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Like a 90s “gifted” kid that was supposed to be a lot of things, the electric Jeep Wagoneer S never really found its place — but with dealers discounting the Jeep brands forward-looking flagship by nearly $25,000, it might be time to give the go-fast Wagoneer S a second look.
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Whether we’re talking about Mercedes-Benz, Cerberus, Fiat, or even Enzo Ferrari, outsiders have labeled Jeep as a potentially premium brand that could, “if managed properly,” command luxury-level prices all over the globe. That hasn’t happened, and Stellantis is just the latest in a long line of companies to sink massive capital into the brand only to realize that people will not, in fact, spend Mercedes money on a Jeep.
That said, the Jeep Wagoneer S is not a bad car (and neither is its totally different, hideously massive, ICE-powered Wagoneer sibling, frankly). Built on the same Stellantis STLA Large vehicle platform that underpins the sporty Charger Daytona EVs, the confusingly-named Wagoneer S packs dual electric motors putting out almost 600 hp. That’s good enough to scoot the ‘ute 0 to 60 mph in a stomach-turning 3.5 seconds and enough, on paper, to convince Stellantis executives that they had developed a real, market-ready alternative to the Tesla Model Y.
With the wrong name and a sky-high starting price of $66,995 (not including the $1,795 destination fee), however, that demand didn’t materialize, leaving the Wagoneer S languishing on dealer lots across the country.
That could be about to change, however, thanks to big discounts on Wagoneer S being reported at CDJR dealers in several states, according to our friends at the Car Dealership Guy podcast.
- Jimmy Britt Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Georgia, has a Wagoneer S with an MSRP of $67,590 listed at $43,104 ($24,486 off)
- In Florida, Taverna Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Fiat has a $67,590 Wagoneer S slashed to $43,138 ($24,452 off)
- Chris Nikel Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram Fiat in Oklahoma has a Wagoneer S listed for $43,425 ($24,165 off)
“Stellantis bet big on electric versions of iconic American brands like Jeep and Dodge, but consumers aren’t buying the premise,” writes CDG’s Marcus Amick. “(Stellantis’ dealer body) is now stuck with expensive EVs that need huge discounts to move, eating into already thin margins while competitors focus on [more] profitable gas-powered vehicles.”
All of which is to say: if you’ve found yourself drawn to the Jeep Wagoneer S, but couldn’t quite stomach the $70,000+ window stickers, you might want to check in with your local Jeep dealer and see how you feel about it at a JCPenneys-like 30% off!
Jeep Wagoneer S gallery
SOURCES | IMAGES: Car Dealership Guy, CarScoops, and CarsDirect.
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