Honda to build another auto plant in Ohio (Video)

Honda plans to build a small new plant in Ohio to make the Acura NSX supercar, a vehicle that hasn't been sold since 2005. Watch video

DETROIT -- Honda Motor America plans to build a small new plant in central Ohio sometime in the next three years to make its iconic Acura NSX supercar.

Off the market since 2005, the NSX has been immortalized in video games as one of Japan's greatest sports cars. The next version will be designed and built in Ohio.

"It says a lot that we're willing to bring a marquee vehicle like the NSX to Ohio and say we have the engineering talent and capabilities here to do it," Jeff Conrad, Acura's vice president and general manager said during an interview at the North American International Auto Show.

Honda officials declined to say how big the investment in the new plant will be or how many jobs would be added, other than to say it will be a much smaller project than the company's main plants in Marysville and East Liberty.

Honda spokesman Ron Lietzke said the company will not seek state tax credits and that it did not seek credits for the ongoing $400 million in plant upgrades taking place in Ohio.

"Generally, we have not used those programs," Lietzke said.

Ford, General Motors and Chrysler have all announced massive plant upgrades in the past two years, but in all of those cases, winning state tax breaks was a condition of adding new work.

Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who was touring the auto show today, called the new investment significant.

"It's exciting, obviously, for our state. The auto industry is coming back. It's the sector that's creating jobs," Brown said.

With fuel economy regulations getting more stringent over the next few years, many automotive experts have predicted the death or significant decline of supercars such as the NSX and models offered by Ferrari and Porcshe.

Conrad said uncertainty over regulations forced Honda to take its time on the NSX's design. The vehicle that emerged is powered by a V-6 engine coupled to a hybrid drive system.

The engine will power rear wheels while electric motors will power the front. Conrad said the design offers the power of a supercar, all-wheel drive and respectable fuel economy.

"We'll be able to bring performance and meet fuel economy requirements at the same time," Conrad said.

While the new plant will bring bragging rights to central Ohio, the ability to claim production of a massively powerful car, Honda officials said the jobs numbers will not be huge.

When asked how the NSX plant's production and employment would compare to GM's Corvette plant in Kentucky, a facility with 400 workers who produce fewer than 50,000 cars per year, Conrad said the NSX numbers would be significantly lower.

Building a specialty, niche vehicle next door to research and development facilities is a common practice in the auto industry. The last generation of the $80,000 NSX came out of a Japanese plant near Honda's headquarters, and Ford used to produce its GT sports car at a niche plant near Detroit.

Lietzke said Honda's research center in Raymond, Ohio, has been responsible for much of the engineering and design on the NSX, so it made sense to build the car near there.

Conrad said many people at Acura are excited to bring back the NSX. He said the company hopes to build its brand around offering high-tech, powerful cars that offer great fuel economy, and the NSX can be a symbol for that goal.

"It never got out of our bloodstream. It's something we've been thinking about for a long, long time," Conrad said.