This Is The 1970s Honda NSX V8 That Never Was

After a couple decades of building competent, reliable basic transportation, Honda decided to expand its scope. Along with the booming ’80s came a new idea – a flagship, mid-engined sports car using the recently developed VTEC variable valve timing system and an aluminum-intensive chassis. The result of that project was the Acura NSX (sold globally as a Honda), which became an instant classic when it arrived in 1990. The thing is, the company was actually considering a mid-engined sports car much earlier than that, and it could’ve even had a V8.

The Chic, Sleek Design That Could Have Been

The fabled 1970s mid-engined sports car concept returned to the limelight a couple years ago, and thanks to volunteers at the company’s design studios in Japan, the vehicle has made its first official “debut” at the Honda Collection Hall in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. According to the YouTube channel モンベル好きS660乗り, which recently visited the museum, the mid-engined sports car project began in 1973 but was cancelled the following year due to the oil crisis going on at the time. By the time Honda pulled the plug, the supercar had made it to a full-scale clay model stage, which was likely recycled on other designs. All that was left of the car were some drawings and sketches – until now.

Using digitized blueprints and input from its original designers, volunteers at Honda crafted a 1/4-scale model of the supercar, rendered in era-appropriate colors. The 2D drawings and photos of the original clay model were scanned and used to create digital 3D renderings of the car. The original designers, now retired, returned to the design studio to provide their input, and once finalized, the digital models were used to provide era-appropriate colorizations and even visualize the car’s planned targa-roof option. The final product can be seen at the Honda Collection Hall in 1/4-scale, allowing visitors to imagine a world where the NSX arrived 15 years ahead of schedule.

Formula 1 Performance, CVCC Efficiency

At the time, Honda was primarily known for cheap-and-cheerful scooters and no-frills compact cars, but people forget that founder Soichiro Honda considered racing to be an essential part of his company’s research and development process. The company even had a compact V8, designed for its 1968 Formula 1 season, which displaced 3.0 liters and had a wide, low 120-degree bank angle. It’s possible that the so-called RA302E V8 engine could have shown up behind the passenger cabin in the 1970s Honda sports car, likely with the company’s Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion (CVCC) cylinder heads.

CVCC came out in 1975 on the Civic compact car, and its lean, efficient operation ensured complete combustion and reduced nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbon emissions. The result was a vehicle that didn’t need a catalytic converter or unleaded gasoline to meet emissions standards, yet still produced good power. The CVCC cylinder heads would have done similar magic for the V8-powered, mid-engined sports car, helping Honda do battle with the likes of the 160-horsepower Lotus Esprit, 109-hp Porsche 914/6, and maybe even the 195-hp Dino 246.

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We probably won’t ever know what the unfinished Honda V8 sports car would have been capable of, but we wish we could’ve found out. But with the advent of the Prelude, another nostalgia-steeped product, perhaps Honda will resuscitate its mid-engined project – or at least build a running prototype of the 1973 original.

Source: モンベル好きS660乗り on YouTube via Car and Driver