Acura Showcases High Performance Hybrid

It was only three years after Honda introduced its Insight gasoline-electric hybrid to the U.S. market that this automaker showed it was also interested in higher performance hybrid applications. This interest materialized in the form of the Acura DN-X, a wild concept sports car that brought this idea to the extreme. While the move toward hybrid performance materialized in showrooms a few short years later with the introduction of the Honda Accord Hybrid and its V-6 Integrated Motor Assist hybrid system, the DN-X headed in a whole new direction. It featured a 400 horsepower hybrid powerplant and exotic styling that seemed to suggest a next-generation NSX. This concept was well ahead of its time since we will surely see high performance hybrids come to the fore in the years ahead. This article is reprinted just as it ran in the very first issue of Green Car Journal (Special Edition 2003), sharing how automakers were beginning to explore hybrid power for performance along with fuel efficiency and emissions reduction.

HIGH PERFORMANCE HYBRIDS
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED SUMMER 2003 Blending environmental performance with the traditional concept of tire-burning high performance is no easy thing. Often, these two are in conflict. A high fuel economy engine is not typically noted for its ability to press you back in the seat from stoplight to stoplight.

Yet, this blending is possible. Nowhere is this so evident as with Honda's upscale Acura brand, which offers the DN-X hybrid electric concept as a likely window to a future of environmentally-inclined, yet performance driven vehicles.

The DN-X uses Honda's most important environmental technology advance - the Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) hybrid powerplant - but in this case a kicked up 400 horsepower variant. Here, a 3.5-liter i-VTEC V6 engine powers the rear wheels while an advanced electric IMA system provides additional power at all four corners. It's a package that promises exhilarating performance and an impressive 42 mpg.

The car's innovative 6-speed clutchless manual transmission allows working through the gears at will, or selecting fully automatic operation. Drive-by-wire systems control throttle, brake, and steering operations. Performance is enhanced with a vehicle stability assist and active torque transfer system.

Featuring a monocoque body over a highly rigid and lightweight chassis, the wind-cheating DN-X features a coefficient of drag of 0.23, a nearly 25% improvement over the already aerodynamic Acura NSX sports car. It integrates fully independent front and rear double wishbone suspension, large ventilated disc brakes, and 18-inch alloy wheels up front with 19-inch alloys at the rear. The supercar's suite of high-tech electronics includes lane keeping assistance and adaptive cruise control, GPS navigation, in-vehicle e-mail and internet connectivity, active headlights, and night vision...all the gear needed for navigating your way to the future.

Want to know more about high performance 'green' cars? Be sure to check out these articles on GreenCar.com:
Fisker Karma Hybrid Sports Car Rollout
Tesla Electric Car Gets Reality Check
Trend Watch: 'Green' Sports Cars