What's all this about?

We've been waiting ten years for this, but by crikey it looks like it was worth the agonising passage of time - for Honda has revealed the second-generation NSX at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit and it looks abso-bloody-lutely sensational. Honda is back in the performance game.

What more do we know about it?

The exterior is crafted to a tenet known as 'interwoven dynamic exterior design'. It is said to be aerodynamically optimised in all respects and has the same cab-forward stance as its predecessor, to accommodate the mid-mounted engine. But just look at it; isn't it glorious? It's a bit bigger in all dimensions than the old car but everything underneath is lightweight and pure of focus.

Are you sure about that?

Yup, the chassis is a space-frame composed of aluminium, ultra-high strength steel and fitted with a carbon fibre floor. This is clothed in body panels that are an aluminium/sheet-moulding composite for a lower centre of gravity and lower vehicle weight. Fully independent, all-aluminium suspension is used, while the NSX rolls on 19-inch front and 20-inch rear alloy wheels. Braking is handled by six-pot front and four-pot rear monobloc callipers working on carbon ceramic brake discs.

How about the cabin? That was always pretty dire on the old car.

We'll grant you that but the same can't be said about the new model's interior - it looks superb, with deep bucket seats trimmed in leather and a TFT dashboard with a driver-focused layout. There's an Integrated Dynamics System too, which basically means 'selectable driving modes'.

You're skirting around the main issue - how much power does this thing make?

Ah, we don't know... yet. But given the forthcoming Civic Type R is going to have more than 300hp, it would seem Honda is getting its performance teeth back and the NSX would have to be at least 500hp to stand a chance in today's marketplace. This figure looks eminently achievable, though, given it uses an all-new, twin-turbocharged, 75-degree DOHC V6 engine mated to three electric motors - two independent ones controlling the front wheels and a direct-drive unit jammed in between the petrol engine and the transmission. On that latter score, the NSX gets a nine-speed Honda-developed dual-clutch transmission and a Super-Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) system is required to handle power at all four corners.

And when can we try it out?

It's supposed to be on sale later this year, although that may be in the US - the car is being built exclusively in the States (in Ohio) and development has been led by Acura. It will still be fantastic, though, and we are counting down the days to try this thing on the road. If Honda gets it right the new NSX could make the BMW i8 look utterly daft.