Honda NSX delayed...again

In what's now becoming a soap opera-like saga, there's been another plot change in the tale of Honda's next-generation NSX as company boss Takeo Fukui recently announced that the carmaker was postponing the launch of its Acura premium brand in Japan.

According to UK's respected Autocar magazine, this means that the keenly awaited NSX replacement -- which will wear Acura badges -- won't be unveiled at October's Tokyo Motor Show (as was originally scheduled).

Honda used January's Detroit motor show to pull the wraps off its Advanced Sports Car Concept (pictured), and this was believed to be a fairly accurate indicator of how the next-gen NSX would shape up.

The concept car featured a front-engine layout (unlike the mid-engined original), but Honda's executives were saying nothing at the time about the engine's displacement, or whether it would be a V6, V8 or V10.

The latest announcement by Fukui means the suspense will be carried through to until at least 2010, as Autocar suggests the Acura brand won't launch in Japan any earlier than this.

As there's no Tokyo motor show in 2010 (it takes place on odd-number years), we may have to wait until 2011 before the car finally makes its debut.

This means Nissan/Infiniti and Lexus will steal a sizeable head-start in the all-Japan supercar wars as the two carmakers are on the verge of unleashing the all-new GTR and LF-A respectively at October's Tokyo motor show.

The delay of the Acura brand's launch would no doubt be a blow for Honda as it's believed work was well advanced on the all-new NSX.

Prototypes mules (disguised in a stretched S2000 chassis) have been regularly snapped cutting fast laps at the Nurburgring in recent months, and it's been speculated that these were powered by a V10 with around 370kW (or 500 horsepower in the old scale).

Also rumoured was that the new NSX would be a four-seat GT (grand tourer), rather than a focused two-seater in the mould of its ancestors. That said, word has it that an NSX prototype was lapping the Nurburgring in the 8min 20sec bracket, which isn't too far adrift of what Porsche's 911 Carrera can achieve.

However, in order to be worthy of the 'supercar' tag these days, a lap time around eight minutes flat is the prerequisite. Expect the Infiniti GTR and Lexus LF-A to be in this ballpark...

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