Sorry to say this, but Honda's new flagship will be a more grown-up GT than a screaming sports car. The slow selling, but much admired, NSX will finally be replaced by a new model with the engine mounted in the front rather than just behind the driver.

Perhaps more surprising is that Honda's supercar will have a two-plus-two seating arrangement rather than the two seat layout of the car axed by Honda a couple of years ago. Honda will be keen to sell the NSX replacement in greater numbers, and it is clear that the Japanese manufacturer thinks a dramatic change of character might help deliver this objective.

Spotted lapping the Nordschleife recently, the new car will certainly be every bit as rapid as the old NSX. Contrasting with the original, a 5-litre V10 engine will be used in place of the previous 3.2 V6. Said to deliver a whopping 500bhp, performance is likely to match the forthcoming, and keenly anticipated, Nissan GTR.

Furthermore, a tweaked version of the superb all-wheel drive system utilised in the Honda Legend will almost certainly be incorporated. The Acura Advanced Sports Car Concept (ASCC), which featured at the Detroit Motor Show earlier this year, used this setup, and we have learned that the mechanical specification of the new production car will closely mirror that of this concept.

What is still unclear, however, is how the car will look. It is rumoured that the design of the ASCC, revealed in Detroit, was considered not bold enough by the Honda hierarchy and was sent back to be reworked. It is expected that a final, more daring proposal will be ready in time for the Tokyo motorshow in October, where Honda will be determined to snatch centre-stage from Nissan's finished GTR.

No wonder Honda is spending time at the famous German track; the GTR was developed there as well. And you can be sure that both companies won't settle for anything less than consistently lapping the Nurburgring in less than eight minutes. Watch this space...

Richard Tanner - 25 Jun 2007