This was Porsche's secret message to the Acura NSX development team

[Wretched]

Many manufacturers buy cars from other makers to benchmark while they are developing a new vehicle. Honda was no different when it was developing the Ohio-built Acura NSX. One of its purchases was the highly regarded Porsche 911 GT3, bought to assess its steering, vehicle dynamics project leader Nick Robinson told Automotive News.

Usually, makers go to dealerships just like regular customers, and the rival carmaker is none the wiser. Except these days, with ever more information being stored in the vehicle's black box, a rogue customer is easier to spot.

Porsche realized that this particular customer was Honda's NSX development team after the GT3 was recalled to fix an issue with the engine connecting rods. When the car was returned, Robinson remembers, the team found a message written under the engine cover: "Good luck Honda from Porsche. See you on the other side."

To develop the $157,800 hybrid, the Honda team also bought a McLaren 12C. The car needed to return to the dealership a few times for remedial work, but McLaren didn't quite catch on.

Said Robinson: "They wanted to know, where did you go 205 mph? What track?"

http://autoweek.com/article/car-news...n=awdailydrive

Love it Porsche!! McLaren's question was hilarious.

[grey_esp]

lol..."recalled to fix an issue with the engine connecting rods"

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by grey_esp

lol..."recalled to fix an issue with the engine connecting rods"

Yep, well known issue where Porsche replaced all GT3 engines due to "...The original engines were found to have an issue with a loosened screw joint on the piston connecting rod, though Porsche sources have said the latest engine problem is in the valvetrain of the flat-six motor and it was less troublesome to simply remove the engines and replace them with all-new engine."

http://www.motoring.com.au/porsche-r...3-again-52682/

[sprintman1]

Like BMW M3 V8 with lack of bearing clearance and rod side clearance. U.S enthusiasts ended up getting custom bearings designed and manufactured and available to all end users.

[Stefan]

Which is why the Euro car is more expensive as they research and develop and engineer cars.

Mazda, Honda and the Koreans then simply buy a Euro car and rip off the Engineering and sell the car with similar technology 50% cheaper than the Germans can.

Clowns then can't understand why a German car costs more than a Japanese car that has all the same technology. Why can the Japanese do it so much cheaper?

[SumoDog68]

Originally Posted by Stefan

Which is why the Euro car is more expensive as they research and develop and engineer cars.

Mazda, Honda and the Koreans then simply buy a Euro car and rip off the Engineering and sell the car with similar technology 50% cheaper than the Germans can.

Clowns then can't understand why a German car costs more than a Japanese car that has all the same technology. Why can the Japanese do it so much cheaper?

You are drawing some conclusions that are not quite correct. All car manufacturers (including german manufacturers ) routinely research their competitors product - they rip them apart down to the last bolt and nut .
They know exactly what they are competing against. That does not always mean that they "copy" others designs .
As for why basic , common variety german cars cost more than their Japanese competitors - maybe it is because some mistakenly believe they are superiorly engineered and are prepared to pay for it?
Facilities like these are common in car manufacturing.

http://www.wired.com/2006/02/teardown/

[malazn mafia]

Originally Posted by SumoDog68

You are drawing some conclusions that are not quite correct. All car manufacturers (including german manufacturers ) routinely research their competitors product - they rip them apart down to the last bolt and nut .
They know exactly what they are competing against. That does not always mean that they "copy" others designs .
As for why basic , common variety german cars cost more than their Japanese competitors - maybe it is because some mistakenly believe they are superiorly engineered and are prepared to pay for it?
Facilities like these are common in car manufacturing.

http://www.wired.com/2006/02/teardown/

Didn't Ford buy an X5 and reverse engineered it during territory development? Copying is a valid form of engineering and to me it's avoiding reinventing the wheel or encountering problems someone else has already encountered and fixed. What ****** me off is throwaway engineering, where cars are built for peanuts by slave labour, and then flogged off at a premium price in the first world.

[rancidpunx]

Ford had an M3 for an aspect of Mustang development fairly recently.