Hold Up. Is This the Honda ZSX?

Sebastien Bell
by Sebastien Bell

We just got our hands on pictures of a mystery Honda being unloaded from a transport truck in California. Although it’s clearly a concept—production cars in our experience come with roofs—it looks an awful lot like something that might eventually become the Honda ZSX, sometimes known as the baby NSX.

First and foremost, this just looks like a little NSX. The pointy features and the aerodynamism are all pure NSX. The tiny frontal area also suggests that this is a mid-engine car.

Then there’s the more circumstantial evidence of its location. Our spy photographer found this concept hanging around California, which a quick look at my Atlas tells me is in America. The very same America where the NSX was developed. The same America whose Honda office is reportedly advocating for a small sports car project.

SEE MORE: Honda Trademarks ZSX, Could End Up on Baby NSX

So if we accept that Honda is looking to build a baby NSX— and a trademark application suggests they are—Ohio, where the not-baby-NSX was developed, would be a perfect place to start. Especially if you consider that its probable engine, the 2.0-liter I4 that propels the Civic Type-R also comes from Ohio.

All very exciting to be sure, but there are a few details that cast some doubt onto this all. Details like the Honda badges. A baby NSX would surely be branded as an Acura in America. Seeing as how this is a roofless car, you could see that as a sign that this will instead be a followup to the much loved S2000. You could. Really. No one’s stopping you.

Or you could take that as a sign that this is just a design study. Whatever the case, this thing looks cool. And with the New York Auto Show coming in April, we can’t help but hope that all the mystery surrounding this concept will be cleared up then.

Sebastien Bell
Sebastien Bell

Sebastien is a roving reporter who covers Euros, domestics, and all things enthusiast. He has been writing about the automotive industry for four years and obsessed with it his whole life. He studied English at the Wilfrid Laurier University. Sebastien also edits for AutoGuide's sister sites VW Vortex, Fourtitude, Swedespeed, GM Inside News, All Ford Mustangs, and more.

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  • Jonny_Vancouver Jonny_Vancouver on Mar 11, 2017

    It has to be practical. Making a small convertible only would be a mistake, even Mazda realizes this. Second to that, I'd hope it's affordable. Idk if anyone remembers the original price of the first gen NSX? I believe it was in the $50k range USD, and now the new one is starting at over $150k. I hope this baby version doesn't suffer from the same kind of inflation otherwise I think the Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ will see a lot more sales, and I would take either one of those over an MX-5 for the hard top, larger trunk, rear seats, and less body roll.

  • Dsad Dsad on Mar 15, 2017

    hmmm

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