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This is a Honda NSX, the car that spent so long being developed, many wondered whether or not it would actually happen.
Its predecessor is something of a legend, and a car you're not allowed to mention without saying that Ayrton Senna had a hand in its development.
So this one needs to be pretty good.
[SOUND] I said mixed things about the NSX.
Some people say it's the best thing ever others are less Complimentary so I thought I'd do the most sensible thing I could and [UNKNOWN] one of 2016's most technologically advanced [UNKNOWN] car to the race track and find out just what it can do.
[UNKNOWN] has four motors under it's shelf, a three and a half liter twin turbal V six A 48 horsepower electric motor, to act as a starter motor and torque gap thinner, and 2 37 horsepower electric motors at the front.
As a result of all that, the new NSX kicks out 574 horses, and 476 pounds foot.
0 to 62 takes about 3 seconds, top speed is 191 miles an hour.
Now arguably it's [UNKNOWN] hypercar tech so you've got an internal combustion engine, and lots of electric motors to keep things moving.
But unlike a lot of them all that EV stuff isn't used to supersize Cones driving, no, much like the La Ferrari, the electric motors are just here to make it go faster.
Good.
Now, let's rewind time a bit.
The original NSX was designed to be a foil to the sports cars coming from Germany, Italy and the like.
It was mid engined, fast, good looking and well, bloody good.
The new one is mid engined, fast, good looking and designed to take on cars from Italy and Germany and well Let's find out just how good it is.
So that [UNKNOWN] racetrack, what do we think?
Good lord this thing is fast.
First thing that you notice about it is that with everything set to super **** you mode It's so responsive.
The steering is absolutely beautiful.
Occasionally, you feel the front grabbing and tugging you through.
[SOUND] [LAUGH] It feels phenomenal.
You feel like you could get away with going a lot quicker than you normally would in a lot of other things.
The speed of the car The power of the car, it's unbelievable considering it weighs 1700 kilos.
It feels so light, it feels so nimble.
With that engine that noise, it's quite a hollow noise.
It's a very V6.
When you get on it drop it down a couple of cogs.
[SOUND] I really love this hollow noise.
They go something on this thing.
My god, it work so well.
It's almost ike trickery.
Skull buggery in there.
Basically give you the break feel you want every time you apply the pedal.
The idea is so you can press the pedal however much you wanted to, but the car will figure out how much is there and what it can do.
Just giving you consistent feel at any given time, great in theory, in practice really good.
But I do want to know what happens when the breaks start Wise on circuit it's good, man.
It corners flat, it corners level.
It feels utterly fantastic.
This is supercar with all of the technology.
From [UNKNOWN] Speed.
It shifts so cleanly, then you put it into Sport Plus.
Now the interesting about Sport Plus is it uses the motor to generate power for the batteries.
Normally it'll run it down and then the motion will kick in as it when.
But It's full thrust from the track.
What it'll do is it'll just give you lots of go and the battery will charge up.
So you have as much a system as possible as in when you want it.
There are a few down sides, the pedals [SOUND] sound awful, they sound genuinely terrible.
And the entertainment system is awful Ignore the entertainment stuff.
It's not worth it.
This isn't a car to concentrate on that kind of thing.
This is a car all about the driving.
When you start getting a little bit slithery and a little bit on the limit.
The steering is so good and so controllable when you're in control, when you start approaching your limit, it's easy to condition, he knows what he's doing, it's such a communicative, fantastic, this thing is alive, Honda is nailing, brilliant It's something else.
It really is.
This is the future of the super car.
I'm totally down with it.
So that's that, then.
The car from Japan that took holy too long to come out is pretty neat.
But how does it stick up against something from Germany?
It's a good thing I found another toy to play with, the LG R 8 V 10 plus.
[SOUND]
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Compared to the home It is decidedly old school.
It's got a 5.2 liter 610 horsepower literally aspirated V10 right in the middle.
In fact, it's one of the last naturally aspirated supercars you can buy.
And it's also got a big silly wing on the back, cuz that's what supercars should have.
Okay, so it's not the most Old school as the old school.
It, like the NSX, has an automatic gear box for example.
Though it's not got as many gears as the Honda, so there's that.
Both cars come with forward driven wheels, engine's in the middle and power well north of 550 horses.
In fact, the Audi has a bit more power and around 200 fewer kilos on board.
No jazzy EV tech Here.
[INAUDIBLE] Over 62 [INAUDIBLE] over three seconds and it'll top out well over 200 miles an hour.
Now we can't do a high speed run here at Castle [UNKNOWN] but we can have a drag race and see if technology is any replacement for good old fashion displacement.
[SOUND] [NOISE]
I've never been in an [INAUDIBLE]
car race.
[UNKNOWN] around the track in anger.
[LAUGH]
Good God, the noise.
That B10 is simply phenomenal.
The turbo [UNKNOWN] it's just ten cylinders exploding with happiness.
It revs so high as well You can ring the [UNKNOWN] performance drive, you get a little less traction control and a little bit more angry [UNKNOWN]
She's good, she's so good.
The gear box in the Audi seven speed tool clutch so slick, so smooth.
Quite violent when you want it to be brakes do need to modulate very solid, work very very well, very well indeed.
The engineering that has gone into this motor car is just Immense.
The first R8 was so good this one is better by a [INAUDIBLE].
Compared to the Honda, what's it like?
They Honda, the interior isn't as good, for one.
Audio's interiors are brilliant and bullet proof, once again proved here.
I have a [INAUDIBLE] But I go [INAUDIBLE] spacious [INAUDIBLE] petroling drum, you are not such a changeable car when you want to Try it.
It will go whisper quiet.
Whereas this can go into a sensible street mode.
It's not that quiet still.
You've got a V10 behind you and yes this has its concessions.
The economy was still in shock where as the Hummer has eco-electric bits to help things along and each of them a bit less.
But I prefer the naturally aspirated [UNKNOWN].
The all wheel drive system in the Honda You feel it when it's assisting you.
And it works wonderfully well, whereas with the [UNKNOWN] you have a little bit more confidence in it that it's gonna catch here.
So I feel like I'm pushing just a little bit harder.
In all it feels like a more saucy product than the experience you get, just the noise of it.
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[NOISE]
It's so fun!
Big way naturally aspirated, angry fiery torque.
It seems there are many ways to skim a [UNKNOWN].
Both of these cars have phenomenal power, look fantastic, and make the driver feel pretty good.
But which one would I take home?
And which one should be left in the past?
Both the NSX and the R8 are truly outstanding cars, the NSX taking modern technology To make it simply go faster and be better.
For me, the sound and feel of a natural aspirated engine is one that's definitely quite hard to beat.
So as to what I take home, the R8 stands a pretty good chance.
However, for it's technology and for it's look I think I'll be taking the NSX And then I drove the R8 just a little bit more and you know what, as good as the Honda is, that old school V10 natural aspiration amazing power mid-engine noising, it just can't be the place.
Sorry Honda.
Not this time.
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