The 2022 Acura NSX Type S makes a better case for intelligent supercar engineering than for a comeback. It was the final development of Acura’s second-generation NSX, not the beginning of another production chapter. Honda’s corporate chronology records production ending in November 2022. Viewed today, the interesting question is not whether this coupe can bring Acura back, but what its particular blend of combustion and electric power accomplished.
The premise remains compelling: make serious performance accessible without stripping away the qualities that encourage someone to drive the car regularly. The supplied short identifies that tension correctly. But the Type S deserves more than a string of superlatives. Its engineering shows how electric motors can influence cornering as well as acceleration—and why even an extensively developed supercar still involves compromises.
A farewell with substantial engineering behind it
Acura made every 2022 NSX a Type S, with production limited to 350 cars worldwide and 300 allocated to the United States. In its development announcement, the company explicitly presented the model as a celebration of the generation’s final year. Calling it a farewell edition is therefore accurate; assuming that meant only cosmetic changes is not.
That same announcement describes a coordinated effort between designers and engineers. The wider front air inlet served cooling requirements, while the rear diffuser drew inspiration from the NSX GT3 racer. Those changes give the Type S a useful identity beyond its limited-production plaque: the styling was intended to serve the mechanical package, rather than simply advertise exclusivity.
This distinction matters when assessing its legacy. A final edition can commemorate an existing car, improve it, or do both. The Type S belongs in the last category. Its significance does not depend on treating it as a new announcement or making promises about a successor.
Three electric motors, two different jobs
According to Acura’s specifications, the Type S combines a mid-mounted, twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 with three electric motors for 600 horsepower and 492 lb-ft of system torque. The V6 alone produces 520 horsepower. Those are system ratings, not an invitation to add every component’s individual peak output together.
The layout explains the car better than the headline number. As Acura details in its Sport Hybrid SH-AWD technical overview, one motor sits between the engine and nine-speed dual-clutch transmission. Two more operate independently at the front wheels. Electric assistance therefore provides both propulsion and a means of influencing the car’s rotation.
During turn-in, the front system can increase regenerative braking at the inside wheel to help create a yaw moment—the rotational effect that points the car into a corner. As the driver accelerates out, the system changes its contribution toward forward thrust. This is more specific than saying all-wheel drive continually sends power wherever grip exists. It actively shapes the response to steering and throttle.
The engineering inference is straightforward: electric power is not merely an extra shove attached to a gasoline engine. It becomes another chassis-control tool. That does not make every corner effortless, but it explains why the hybrid system is central to the NSX’s character rather than incidental to it.
More boost needed supporting changes
The Type S received turbochargers shared with the NSX GT3 Evo. Acura’s launch technical release specifies an increase in peak boost from 15.2 to 16.1 psi, injectors with 25 percent greater flow, and intercoolers capable of dissipating 15 percent more heat. These are manufacturer specifications, not independent endurance-test results.
That distinction keeps the cooling story honest. Increased heat-rejection capability supports the higher-output package, but it does not establish how long the car can sustain a particular pace in every ambient temperature. “Performs harder for longer” is a reasonable development ambition, not a measured universal guarantee.
Acura also reported 20 percent more usable battery capacity and 10 percent greater battery output. The word “usable” matters: the claim concerns how effectively the system accesses its energy reserve, not simply a physically larger battery. Taken together, the changes show a coordinated revision of combustion, electrical assistance and thermal management.
What contemporary driving evidence actually says
The strongest support for the short’s description of an approachable supercar comes from identified reviewers, not imagined seat time. In MotorTrend’s February 2, 2022 first drive, Billy Rehbock described precise steering, supportive seats and composed behavior at Daytona. He also disclosed that his experience amounted to only two lead-follow laps.
That is useful evidence of initial response and confidence, but a narrow foundation for sweeping conclusions about daily comfort or prolonged circuit use. A brief track introduction and an extended road evaluation answer different questions.
Independent instrumentation adds another perspective. Car and Driver recorded 60 mph in 2.9 seconds and an 11.0-second quarter-mile at 126 mph; those acceleration results omit a one-foot rollout of 0.2 second. Its 60-mph time matched the previous NSX it tested. The lesson is not that the upgrades failed, but that additional power does not necessarily transform every headline measurement.
Everyday usability still has boundaries
The Type S retained adaptive magnetorheological dampers and four drive modes: Quiet, Sport, Sport+ and Track. Yet Acura also listed just 4.4 cubic feet of cargo space, 3.8 inches of unladen ground clearance and a standard-equipment curb weight of 3,960 pounds. This was a sophisticated performance machine, not practicality without qualification.
Those figures put the everyday-supercar argument in proportion. A broad operating range can make a demanding car easier to enjoy, but it cannot create luggage room or eliminate the inconvenience of low bodywork. Likewise, electronic coordination does not erase mass; it offers additional ways to manage the car’s behavior.
The Type S is most persuasive when judged on that basis. It was both a final edition and a meaningful engineering development, not one instead of the other. Its lasting contribution is the idea that accessible performance deserves as much attention as maximum output. The achievement worth examining is not a promised return to the supercar market, but the care invested in this particular farewell.
Cover: A 2022 Acura NSX Type S photographed in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, on May 4, 2025. Photo: Kevauto / Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Kevauto — CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ · Photo source · Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0). Original photograph; WordPress may create display-size derivatives.
Sources
- Digital FactBook – Chronology
- NSX Type S Defined: New Video Highlights Development of Limited Production 600 hp Acura Supercar
- 2022 Acura NSX Type S Specifications
- Acura Sport Hybrid Super Handling All-Wheel Drive
- Acura Debuts Limited Production 600hp NSX Type S at Monterey Car Week
- 2022 Acura NSX Type S First Drive: One Hell of a Track Star
- Tested: 2022 Acura NSX Type S Bids a 600-HP Farewell
