AWD Honda
I had a couple of interesting ideas to help put Honda back into the performance scene. The first would be the Acura Evo. Build a new RSX off the current Civic frame (or even the next Civic), add the K23 and turbo, then put in SH-AWD. That's everything needed to beat the Evo and STI right off the bat (plus the Mazdaspeed3 and SRT4). This will bring the price closer to the TSX, so it's not 'too cheap' to be an Acura, and it won't compete with the TSX because it's a completely different car. Also, it will be way different from the current Civic and much more expensive. The only hurdle is how in the world do you fit all-wheel drive into a front-wheel-drive car?
Along the same vein, Honda also needs to build a 4.0-liter (or bigger) DOHC i-VTEC V8. Stock makes 350 bhp with a redline of 7500rpm. Si/Type-S makes 400-plus, redline at 8000rpm. Type-R makes at least 500bhp and a 9000-plus redline. Put that gem in the next S2000 and NSX (with SH-AWD, of course, to take on the GT-R) to make it famous, then the Ridgeline, Pilot, MDX, TL and RL to make it profitable.
Honda already makes V8s for ALMS, IRL and F1, so it knows how to build a good one. Come on, Honda, beat Ferrari at their own game. The best part? In five years, these motors will be at most $5K in the junkyards, since they won't be rare (except for the Type-R edition, but when were they ever cheap?). Heck, the base engines will probably run right around $1000. It's time for Honda to completely re-write the rulebook on V8s, just like the NSX re-wrote the one on how to build exotic supercars.
Dave Zipf
Wilmington, DE
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