Although the United States is one of the only markets where the NSX is branded as an Acura, rather than a Honda, the Japanese manufacturer chose to have the NSX GT3 complete its first full season of racing stateside. Soon, however, the car will begin its global racing career sporting the proper badges.
Honda will begin selling the NSX GT3 to race teams globally ahead of the 2018 season, Acura and Honda Performance Development announced Thursday. The mid-engine, rear-wheel drive car will be delivered to teams with its carbon fiber bodywork not covered by paint, cost €465,000 (roughly $542,883) and can be purchased with available customer service options such as training and engineering services.
The NSX, which has been competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GT Daytona class and the Pirelli World Challenge’s GT class, already has two wins under its belt. It claimed victories in back-to-back IMSA rounds, with the first coming at Raceway at Belle Island Park and the second at Watkins Glen International.
“We are extremely pleased with the progress and success of the NSX GT3 in our inaugural season,” HPD president Art St. Cyr said in a statement. “Winning at Detroit and Watkins Glen, two very different circuits, in this highly competitive class illustrates the breadth of capabilities of the NSX GT3. We look forward to seeing the car in victory circle at tracks around the world in 2018 and beyond.”
Built to FIA GT3 specification, the NSX racer is production-based, so it uses the same engine as the 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V-6 as the road car. But the NSX GT3, unlike the street legal version, doesn’t have a hybrid system and only sends power to the rear wheels.
Honda, much like Mercedes-AMG did with its new GT4 car, set aside several major sports car series, such as the Blancpain GT Series and 24 Hours Nurburgring in Europe and Australian GT Championship, that it has in mind for the NSX GT3.
As for the Acura-badged NSX GT3, considering the strong start it’s gotten off to, we expect it to be very competitive next year, as Acura has partnered with Team Penske for the 2018 season.
All photos via Honda
