Acura in Forza Horizon 6

Country: Japan | Founded: 1986

Honda launched Acura in 1986 as the first Japanese luxury brand in the American market, a year before Lexus and Infiniti even existed. The original NSX that followed in 1990 changed the supercar world permanently , here was a mid-engine exotic that started every morning, didn't leak oil on your garage floor, and had input from Ayrton Senna on the chassis tuning. Three decades later the second-generation NSX arrived as a completely different animal: twin-turbo V6, three electric motors, all-wheel drive, and enough computing power to make a PlayStation jealous. In FH6 the NSX sits at PI 870 in S1 class and it's the only Acura in the game. No Integra, no RSX, no TLX Type S. Just this one hybrid supercar with a drivetrain so complicated it needs a flowchart to explain.

A single car from a single brand with a single mission: blend Japanese reliability with Italian-style mid-engine dynamics and add hybrid torque where the engine leaves gaps. The NSX is a controversial car in real life , purists wanted a lightweight successor to the original, Honda built a tech showcase instead , but in FH6 the hybrid system does things that purely combustion cars simply can't match. And at PI 870 it's accessible enough that you don't need to be an S2-level driver to extract its potential.

One car. Hybrid SH-AWD. Let's get into what makes it tick.

Available Vehicles

The 2017 NSX is the only Acura currently in FH6. The first-generation NSX (1990-2005) has appeared in multiple previous Horizon titles and would be a natural addition through seasonal content or a future car pack. The Type S variant of the second-gen NSX is also conspicuously absent given its popularity. For now, the 2017 model is what we have and at PI 870 it's a solid S1 contender.

Driving Characteristics

The NSX's hybrid system is the defining feature of this car and you need to understand how it works before anything else makes sense. The 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 sits behind the cabin and drives the rear wheels through a 9-speed dual-clutch transmission. Up front there are two electric motors , one for each wheel , that provide instant torque fill and enable torque vectoring without mechanical differentials. A third electric motor is sandwiched between the engine and transmission, acting as a starter-generator that fills in torque during gear changes. In FH6 this translates to a driving experience that feels like the engine has no turbo lag and no shift delay. The electric motors fill every gap. The power delivery is seamless in a way that purely combustion cars cannot replicate.

The SH-AWD system (Super Handling All-Wheel Drive, Honda's typically awkward acronym) is the party trick and it genuinely changes how you drive. The front electric motors can over-drive the outside front wheel in a corner, pulling the nose into the apex while the rear V6 pushes from behind. The result is a car that rotates mid-corner like it's rear-wheel drive but exits corners with the traction of all-wheel drive. You can get on the throttle earlier than you should be able to and the car just grips and goes. On corner exit the system progressively shifts torque rearward as the steering straightens, so by the time you're pointed down the next straight the NSX is effectively rear-wheel drive again. It's the best of both worlds and in S1 class it gives the NSX a genuine handling advantage over pure RWD or pure AWD competitors.

The weight is the car's biggest limitation and you can't escape it. The NSX weighs about 1,725 kg with the hybrid system, batteries, and all-wheel-drive hardware. That's a lot for a "supercar" , the Ferrari 488 GTB of the same era was nearly 200 kg lighter. In FH6 you feel this in the slowest corners where the hybrid system can only do so much to mask the inertia. Quick direction changes through chicanes are where the weight penalty is most obvious. The car doesn't transition with the eagerness of a lighter mid-engine car. It settles, then turns, then settles again. There's a beat of delay between your input and the car's response that's built into the physics. You learn to work around it by being earlier with your inputs , turn in half a car length sooner than you think you need to, and by the time the car responds you'll be on the right line.

The 9-speed dual-clutch transmission deserves its own paragraph because it's both brilliant and frustrating depending on the circuit. On tracks with flowing corners and consistent speeds it's perfect , shifts are instant, the gear spacing is well judged, and the hybrid motor fills torque during the shift so there's no interruption in acceleration. On tight circuits with frequent gear changes the transmission can get caught in the wrong gear. It occasionally hesitates on downshifts when you're trail braking, leaving you in too high a gear for corner exit. The fix is to use manual shifting on technical circuits. Take control of the gearbox yourself. It's more work but it's faster. On flowing circuits leave it in automatic and let the hybrid system do its thing.

Braking performance is excellent and it needs to be given the weight. The carbon ceramic brakes haul the NSX down from high speed with confidence and the regen from the electric motors adds free deceleration on top of the mechanical braking. The pedal feel in FH6 is firm and progressive , you can trail brake deep into corners without the car becoming unstable. This is actually where the weight helps. The mass settles the car under braking, keeping the rear planted while the front tires handle the deceleration load. Other S1 cars get squirrelly under heavy braking. The NSX just squats and stops.

Best Events

The NSX is most at home on road racing circuits that mix technical sections with medium-length straights. The Mountain Pass circuit is the ideal track , the elevation changes showcase the hybrid torque fill coming out of uphill corners, the downhill sections test the braking stability, and the mix of fast and slow corners gives every part of the car's engineering something to do. The Coastal Highway circuit is also strong for the NSX. The long tunnel section lets the twin-turbo V6 stretch its legs and the high-speed sweepers are within the SH-AWD system's comfort zone. On both tracks a properly tuned NSX is genuinely competitive against cars with significantly higher PI ratings.

Street scene events suit the NSX surprisingly well and for a very specific reason: the instant electric torque makes launching out of corners in traffic much more predictable than in turbo-only cars. There's no waiting for boost. You see a gap, you hit the throttle, the electric motors respond immediately, and you're through before the gap closes. The car's width isn't ideal for threading through dense traffic but the acceleration response more than compensates.

Sprint races and highway circuits expose the NSX's top-end weakness. The twin-turbo V6 makes good power but it runs out of breath above 160 mph compared to larger-displacement competitors. On highway tracks with very long straights you'll lose time to cars with bigger engines and more peak horsepower. The NSX defends well through the corners but loses ground on the straights. It's a finesse car on a power track and sometimes finesse isn't enough.

Wet weather is where the NSX genuinely excels. The SH-AWD system's independent front-wheel torque vectoring plus the predictable electric torque delivery make the car one of the most drivable S1 options in the rain. While RWD competitors are tip-toeing through corners and AWD competitors are pushing wide, the NSX just holds its line and accelerates out like it's dry. If you're doing a rainy seasonal championship, the NSX is your car.

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Tuning Guide

The NSX tuning challenge is different from most S1 cars because the hybrid system already handles so much of the driving dynamics. You're not fixing problems , you're complementing a sophisticated factory setup with adjustments that suit FH6's specific demands. The three areas that actually move the needle: weight reduction to combat the car's mass, tire setup to maximize the SH-AWD system's grip advantage, and gearing to work with the 9-speed DCT's unique characteristics.

Tire Pressure

Drop 2 PSI front, 2.5 PSI rear for circuit racing. The rear tires need the extra contact patch because they handle the V6's output plus the transition from AWD to RWD bias on corner exit. The front benefits from 2 PSI drop to maximize the electric motors' torque vectoring effectiveness , the system works better when the front tires have more mechanical grip to begin with. For top speed runs bump pressures back 1 PSI all around. The NSX isn't a top-speed car so this is situational at best.

Suspension

The NSX comes with magnetorheological dampers in real life and the stock setup in FH6 is actually pretty good. Don't overhaul it , just make two targeted changes. Soften the rear springs by 8 percent to improve traction out of slow corners. The SH-AWD system can only vector torque that the tires can handle, and softer rear springs keep the tires in contact with the road over mid-corner bumps. Anti-roll bars: stiffen the front by one click, soften the rear by one click. This reduces understeer on corner entry where the weight of the hybrid system pushes the nose wide. The change is subtle but on tracks with long sweeping corners it adds up to consistent tenths.

Differential

The NSX doesn't have conventional differentials , the front axles are independently driven by electric motors and the rear uses a mechanical limited-slip diff. In FH6's tuning menu the diff settings apply to the rear axle only. Set acceleration lock at 72 percent and deceleration lock at 22 percent. The moderate accel lock lets the SH-AWD system's front torque vectoring do its job without the rear diff fighting it. Too high on accel lock and the rear pushes while the front pulls , the car feels confused. Too low and you lose rear traction on corner exit.

Gearing

Nine gears is a lot of gears and the stock ratios are spaced for real-world Autobahn cruising, not FH6's short circuits. Shorten the final drive by 8 percent. This tightens up the lower gears where most FH6 racing happens , second through fifth cover 30 to 130 mph with better spacing. The 9-speed DCT actually becomes a weapon with shorter gearing because the hybrid motor fills torque during every shift, meaning you can be more aggressive with manual downshifts without upsetting the car. Don't go shorter than 10 percent or you'll be shifting constantly and the transmission can't keep up.

Brakes

The stock carbon ceramics are good. Race brakes are better but not by as much margin as on other S1 cars. If you're tight on PI budget, leave the stock brakes and invest in weight reduction instead , every kilo you remove improves braking, cornering, and acceleration simultaneously. If you have PI to spare after weight and handling, race brakes are still worth the investment. The improvement shows up most clearly in the second half of a race when the stock brakes start to fade under repeated heavy use.

Rival Comparison

At PI 870 in S1, the NSX faces off against some established competition. The Porsche 911 GT3 RS (PI 895) has better steering feel and more top-end power but lacks AWD. The Audi R8 V10 (PI 880) has a screaming naturally aspirated engine and Quattro AWD but is even heavier than the NSX. The Nissan GT-R Nismo (PI 885) has more brute force but less finesse through transitions. And the BMW M4 Competition (PI 865) is lighter and more agile but can't match the NSX's corner exit traction.

The NSX's niche is drivability. Not a glamorous word but it's accurate. This is the S1 car you pick when you want to be fast without working yourself into a sweat. The SH-AWD system covers for minor mistakes that would spin a 911. The hybrid torque fill means you don't need to nail every downshift perfectly. The brakes are forgiving. The car makes the driver look better than they are. For some people that's a negative , they want the car to fight back, they want to earn their lap times. For everyone else it's a massive practical advantage in online racing where consistency wins races more often than peak pace.

Collection Guide

One Acura in FH6 and it's the 2017 NSX. Autoshow price is around 170,000 credits, which for a mid-engine hybrid supercar is genuinely reasonable. No wheelspin grind, no seasonal FOMO, no auction house sniping required. Just buy it and start driving.

If 170k feels steep, the auction house typically has NSXs at 120-140k depending on the day and the paint. The savings aren't life-changing but if you're building a garage on a budget, every credit counts. The NSX hasn't been a seasonal reward yet but Honda/Acura cars appear frequently in Forzathon shops and playlist rewards, so it's only a matter of time. When it shows up, claim it. A free S1 hybrid supercar is a free S1 hybrid supercar.

Common Tuning Mistakes

Trying to make the NSX into something it's not. I see this constantly , people strip out the hybrid system, max the twin turbos, and try to turn it into a lightweight track weapon like the original NSX. It doesn't work. The second-gen NSX is fundamentally built around its hybrid drivetrain and the car's entire character collapses without it. The weight is structural. The SH-AWD behavior is central to the handling. Embrace what the car is rather than trying to make it into what the first-gen NSX was. It's a different car for a different era.

Over-gearing the car by shortening the final drive too aggressively. The 9-speed DCT has closely spaced ratios already and shortening them further creates a car that's constantly shifting , and every shift is a moment where you're not accelerating. The hybrid torque fill helps but it doesn't eliminate the interruption entirely. An 8 percent shorter final drive is the sweet spot. Past 10 percent the shifting overhead costs more time than the acceleration gains produce.

Ignoring weight reduction in favor of power. The NSX's 1,725 kg curb weight is the single biggest thing holding it back at PI 870. Every 50 kg you remove improves every aspect of performance , braking, cornering, acceleration , in a way that power upgrades alone cannot. A lighter NSX is simply a faster NSX across the board. The best build order for this car is weight reduction first, handling mods second, and power last. It's counter-intuitive because we all love horsepower numbers, but the stopwatch doesn't care about dyno sheets.