NSX rips up the Rocky Mountains

15 Minutes With Acura’s Explosive NSX Atop A Rocky Mountain
Josh Max , CONTRIBUTOR

Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.
We needed a cigarette after taking a ride in the 2017 NSX – and we don’t even smoke. Though we spent a mere fifteen minutes navigating around the winding turns and twists at the top of a Colorado mountain, the impression on our body, soul, and spirit was considerable.

First, there is the exhaust-belch that happens each time you accelerate and ease off the pedal in “Track” mode, rather like the sound of a large, dangerous creature exhaling a large volume of air. This gives the driver a feeling of being really “there” with the ride and each push of the pedal. You could accurately describe the experience of your connection to the road as similar to that of piloting a high-powered motorcycle: it’s just you, the NSX, and the asphalt. The car pins your ears back in a split second via its 3.5 L V6 engine making a blistering 573 horsepower and achieving 60 MPH in just three seconds.

 
A curious aspect is the stated mileage – 21 city, 22 highway, rather than the 9 or so in some cars in this class. Why such comparatively good mileage? It’s a hybrid, that’s why, with three electric motors assisting its mid-mounted twin-turbo V6—one driving each front wheel, and one boosting the power to the rear wheels.

Inside, the seats are sports-car snug, of course.

 

Drivers have a choice of four driving modes: “Track” – the most aggressive – and “Quiet,” “Sport” and “Sport+” “Quiet” is, as you’d expect, a muted experience, better suited for touring and those times when you don’t want to be noticed in your $167,000 sports car. (We didn’t try “Quiet.)

And, just like that, it was over. Fifteen minutes isn’t much, but we don’t know anyone who would turn down seat time with this car if it was “15 minutes or you miss your turn.”

Surely, a future classic has been born.

Josh Max