Acura unleashes NSX supercar

Acura NSX. (Honda)

Evoking the memory of Formula One legend Ayrton Senna and boasting of G-forces similar to the sport he graced, the $150,000 Acura NSX supercar made its global bow Monday in Detroit.

Just two hours after Ford threatened to hog the limelight at one of the world's top auto shows with its new GT supercar, Acura hit back with the new version of its fabled NSX, and a hybrid version at that.

"It's just badass... in a luxury kind of a way," Mike Accavitti, Honda senior vice president and Acura general manager, told a throng of reporters at the North American International Auto Show.

Unveiled in a reception more suited to a rock star than a car, the NSX, which boasts horsepower in excess of 550, threatened to bring the annual Detroit extravaganza to a standstill.

Originally debuted in the United States 25 years ago and driven by Senna in 1989, the new NSX combines an electric motor at the rear and twin-electric motors at the front with twin turbo-charged V6 engines.

"It not only lives up to the legacy of its predecessor, it's the stuff that our dreams are made of," purred Accavitti.

The Acura NSX will hit the streets later this year and has four driving modes: quiet (running only electric), sport, sports plus and track.