How far has Honda been willing to go to develop the new Honda NSX? So far. Perhaps too much… to the point of destroying a Ferrari 458 Italia in the name of developing its new sports car.
It wasn't just a Porsche 911 GT3 and a McLaren MP4-12C that Honda acquired to compare, develop and learn to apply to the new NSX. According to several international websites citing brand sources, Honda also acquired a Ferrari 458 Italia. Like the other two sports cars, the exotic Italian model also served as an object of study to improve and accelerate the development of the NSX.
Now a question for cheese: knowing that the Honda NSX is a complex hybrid machine, what the hell did Honda engineers want to learn from a supercar equipped with an atmospheric V8 engine!?
According to the same sources, the greatest curiosity of Honda engineers did not lie in the engine, not even in the suspension scheme. It resided in something much more complex: the Italian chassis. Manufactured using advanced aluminum handling techniques, the 458's chassis was consistently praised by critics for its feedback and precision, right up until the arrival of the 488 GTB. We remind you that Ferrari owns vast know-how in handling this material.
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Developing a chassis that is rigid and at the same time capable of transmitting feedback to the driver through controlled deformation points is not an easy task, and Honda despite having some of the best technicians in the world in this area – largely due to the development program of the HRC department. that develops competition bikes – yet he thought he could learn something more from his European rival. Hence, they were not with half measures and allegedly cut a Ferrari 458 Italia to pieces for analysis of all aluminum sections – but not before carrying out some dynamic tests, of course…The remains of this Maranello gem were allegedly thrown away and lie somewhere in Honda's research and development (R&D) department. They have probably all been burned, a recurrent practice in the Japanese brand's facilities – mainly with competition cars. Aside from the copies that go to the brand's museums, most of Honda's competition models and development prototypes are destroyed to preserve the brand's technological secrets. Sad isn't it? We promise not to say anything to anyone…