Drive Wire: October 28, 2015
The new Acura NSX, an Audi A8 upgrade, Jeep’s Cherokee recall, skiing airbags and backflipping fighter pilots.
Transcript:
Hey guys, it’s Christina Thompson, and this is Drive Wire for Wednesday, October 28
Three years ago, Acura teased a new NSX. Now, the time has finally come to see the specs! We know almost everything about the much-anticipated mid-engine supercar, which is set to go on sale in 2016. Honda’s heavy hitter will use a hybrid propulsion system with three electric motors and a twin-turbo 3.5-liter V6. Two electric motors will drive each front wheel and a third will be linked directly to the rear axle to prevent any delay in putting the power down. When all four power sources are combined, the NSX will make a mighty 573 horsepower and 475 pound-feet of torque. If you have the patience to wait until next year and over $150,000 to burn, run on down to your dealer.
More new metal! Audi has announced a mid-range A8 I4.0 T-Sport that serves up a nice round 450 horsepower from its twin-turbo V8. In addition to 15 more horsepower than the standard A8, the new sport model includes an aggressive styling package with front bumper extensions, side skirts and a lower rear bumper. Although model upgrades don’t always grab our attention, The Drive will always welcome an increase in horsepower.
Fiat Chrysler is taking the phrase “proactive is better than reactive” seriously and recalling 75,000 Jeep Cherokees due to a potential fire risk. Jeep stated that they will be recalling these Cherokees because they noticed an air-conditioning line is too close to the exhaust manifold, creating a fire risk. No incidents have been documented, but as the auto industry has learned, it is better to be safe than sorry.
Protective sports equipment manufacturer Dainese will be outfitting major downhill ski-racing teams with personal airbags. After compiling 5 years worth of data, Dainese has engineered an airbag that deploys in 25 milliseconds when irregular acceleration is detected. The airbag is designed to evenly disperse padding over the collar bone, chest and shoulders before the skier makes contact with the ground in order to prevent the devastating injuries all too familiar in the sport.
Who doesn’t love watching 9 fighter pilots slice through the air at 621 miles per hour? This video comes to us from the tailwing of a MIG-29 and the cockpit of an SU-27 of the Russian Air Force’s Kubinka Diamond Aerobatics Team. Comprised of four flankers from the Russian Knights and five fulcrums from the Swifts, these airborne genies fly within a few feet of one another as they backflip, barrel roll and bank their way to glory.
That’s it for today’s edition of Drive Wire. For more, keep it locked to thedrive.com, and follow us @thedrive on all your favorite social media platforms.
