2019 Acura NSX Production Facilities Tour

These past couple months have been spent discussing the incredible direction that Acura has taken with the NSX supercar, starting with the 1990 NSX that astounded super car enthusiasts and created lifelong fans, and wrapping up last time with the release of the 2019 NSX currently available by order. But what goes on in the development and production of the 2019 NSX to make such an incredible vehicle? Unlike the 1990 NSX, one of the first supercars to ever be mass produced, Acura has taken a completely different philosophy the 2019 NSX.

Moving away from their mass production style of supercar, Acura has chosen to instead begin producing the 2019 NSX in a style more closely affiliated with the likes of high-end AMG vehicles, Ferraris, and Lamborghinis. The NSX production facilities, located in Marysville, Ohio of all places, contains no assembly line nor the sound to go with it. Operating in work weeks of 10 hour days, 4 days a week, the NSX vehicles built here are pushed around the assembly floor from station to station on wheeled platforms.

image courtesy of https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1103249_acura-reveals-nsx-production-secrets

No longer produced to create an excess of inventory on-site at dealers across the nation, but instead the new NSX is instead built to order out in Marysville. Able to construct roughly 2.3 NSX vehicles per day, the rigors of building the new NSX properly are extensive, due to the vehicle having such high standards and expectations to be met. That’s not to say however that humans handle all the work by, well, hand; rather, certain activities must be taken care of by hand to ensure the highest quality, and other tasks are given to extremely specialized machines to meet that same quality.

image courtesy of https://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2016/03/2017-acura-nsx-made-in-the-usa.html

Take for instance the fully automated MIG-welding: performed by eight robots applying over 860 different welds to the car’s frame, which is hoisted on a rotisserie style machine allowing for 360-degree movement around the vehicle. Moving onto paint and primer, all the parts are individually dipped and soaked in respective tanks of primers, clear coats, paints, and more to achieve the perfect coloration, which is all handled and applied by robots similar to the ones who handle the welding.

image courtesy of https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/pictures/acura-nsx-gets-its-very-own-high-tech-factory-pictures/5/

On the opposite side of things, Acura has all assembly done by hand to ensure that nothing goes awry in the assembly process. Team members with specific positions take on tasks such as the manual fixture of body panels using mounted installers. Taking the time to install the part, the body panel installer uses visual ops on a computer in addition to their own visual ability to ensure there are no gaps in the creation of the vehicle. Or down in the vehicle-quality department, workers perform a 40-minute alignment check while sitting on the nicknamed ‘Star Wars chair.’ This chair floats using rails attached to the lift the vehicle resides on, allowing staff members to do full checks underneath the vehicle with ease.

image courtesy of: https://newatlas.com/acura-nsx-factory-tour-photos/42263/

Acura has gone so far as to even add full dyno areas inside the manufacturing plant, to ensure no vehicles are driven outside where the paint could be damaged before it has fully hardened on the vehicle. Acura leaves not a single risk in the development of their NSX, using patented technology and talented engineers to create a high-performing vehicle.

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