Showcasing the design and technology direction for Honda’s next generation supercar, the NSX Concept features a V6 mid-mounted engine and will employ a range of new technologies including the innovative Sport Hybrid SH-AWD (Super Handling All Wheel DriveTM) hybrid system. It is expected to go on sale within the next three years.

While many supercars opt for a big powerful engine, the NSX Concept pursues the true racing philosophy of ‘performance through lightness’ to achieve a more favourable power-to-weight ratio.

Utilising a unique 2-Electric Motor Drive Unit with a bilateral torque adjustable control system, the new hybrid all-wheel-drive system can instantly generate negative or positive torque to the front wheels during cornering, which Honda anticipates will deliver handling performance unmatched by previous AWD systems.

In addition to the handling benefits of the Sport Hybrid SH-AWD® system, a powerful next-generation VTEC V-6 engine with direct-injection, works in concert with a dual clutch transmission with built-in electric motor, to create supercar acceleration combined with outstanding efficiency.

Speaking at last’s months Detroit show, Takanobu Ito, President and CEO of Honda Motor Co., who led the development of Honda’s first NSX supercar, said “This Sport Hybrid SH-AWD system will make the NSX the ultimate expression of the synergy between man and machine. The NSX will make the driver one with the car to enhance dynamic driving abilities without getting in the way.”

He went on to say, “Like the first NSX, we will again express high performance through engineering efficiency. In this new era, even as we focus on the fun to drive spirit of the NSX, I think a supercar must respond positively to environmental responsibilities.”

We look forward to seeing it up close and personal at Geneva.

European CR-V Prototype

Honda will also present the European CR-V Prototype at Geneva, a preview model highlighting the exterior styling direction of the all-new fourth generation European Honda CR-V, which is set to go on sale in Autumn 2012.

Compared to the previous generation, the model takes on a more aggressive stance with deeper sculpting of the body lines and a bolder front fascia. The lower front bumper wraps smartly upward to convey SUV capability, while the lower front bumper design now integrates more smoothly into the fascia for improved aerodynamics.

Gallery

If you’ve clicked on this post looking to enjoy the latest videos, then I suggest you visit ‘Super Bowl XLVI – The Greatest Automotive Ad Game on Earth’, where you can view each of the automotive ads vying for the top-spot at the Big Game this year.

Meanwhile, let’s take a quick look at how the automotive sector ads are doing, now that the dust has settled.

Can Volkswagen be beaten?

Last year Volkswagen destroyed the opposition at Super Bowl XLV and most importantly during the remainder of the advertising year. Their campaign, “The Force”, clocked up nearly 53 million views in less than 12 months and a record 4.8 million social shares.

They did this, not by producing the best advert (although it was fun to watch), but because they figured out how to game the attention of online audiences, drumming up initial buzz before the campaign started (something big is coming) and then feeding people’s innate appetite to share and be acknowledged (as a trusted finder) in their social groups.

The ad went viral in its first week and sustained the interest of audiences, primarily because the meme entered the vocabulary of parody writers, was picked up and used by other media campaigns (launch of the Hollywood-produced ‘Thor’ Film) and became the poster-child for combustion-engine haters Greenpeace in their anti-VW campaign, ‘The Dark Side’.

So did Volkswagen take on board the valuable lessons from 2011? And what about the other automotive brands?

Here’s a quick look at the points table to remind us where each of the campaigns have currently reached (all data was obtained from Unruly Media’s Viral Video Chart and valid as of 31/1/2012):

In 2012, Honda learns that if you can’t beat them… why not join them?

So far in 2012, Honda are the only automotive brand within spitting distance of Volkswagen, but even so, just look at their measly 2.95% shares per view figure compared to Volkswagen’s 6.10%. To put these into perspective, in our 2011 round-up we reported Ken Block/DC Shoes Gymkhana 4 achieved 16.3%, whilst Volkswagen’s ‘The Force’ reached 10.2%.

So as a benchmark we are looking for at least 1 in every 10 views (many of which will be repeat viewings) to result in the video being shared.

Whilst the share performance of Honda’s 2 videos looks modest compared to Volkswagen, the number of views is far closer. This tells us that the pre-launch mentions of Matthew Broderick’s involvement in the campaign, plus all the media speculation about a remake of the film, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, will have generated a considerable boost in search traffic, but so far viewers haven’t been quite delighted enough to share it as readily as they have VW’s Bark Side teaser.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment so far though, is for GM/Chevrolet.

When we tally up our estimates for the media spend by automotive brands in this year’s Super Bowl, we’re looking at $66.5 million for the TV spots alone (19 spots at a minimum of $3.5 million each), add on top of this the filming & production, fees for actors, brand licensing (Twilight, Star Wars, Rocky..), agency fees and online advertising costs and there can’t be much change left from $100 million, with perhaps $30 million of that total being carried by GM.

So they’ll not be best pleased to see their main feature spot trailing the field in 7th place, although they still have 4 more ads to try and recover the lost ground.

But perhaps the most intimidating observation to make is that Volkswagen have yet to launch their full commercial (which will feature the New Beetle), but it’s early days and the Big Game is still just under 5 days away..

Conclusion

There’s no doubt in my mind, that the success of advertising in today’s digital world depends on managing the shift from paid promotion through to the more sustainable journey in earned media. Whereas earned media used to cover just professional publishers and news providers, it now includes every single consumer who writes comments, blogs or just updates their Facebook page and is therefore publishing their opinions about a brand.

This is the heartland for innovative ad campaigns who seek to maximise the reach, sustainability and re-usability of their creative message and the most difficult change to embrace for ad agencies more used to influencing rather than engaging the audience.

We’ll draw out more insights from the 2012 Super Bowl Ad war once the game is over, but for now one can only imagine Volkswagen are rather pleased with the creative work of their agency Deutsch, LA.

I guess I’m even more impressed given that he doesn’t have to. If you’re not a Seinfeld fan there’s still some neat footage of his Porsche collection, which contains the most iconic Porsches from the 917 to a 997 GT3 RS.

This clip is part of a 30-minute documentary on the award winning Porsche Panamera microsite (www.panamera.com) which features a Porsche Family Tree applications enabling customers (US only) to post their Porsche history and contribute to the rich tapestry of experiences contained within the site.

Made by the same company (FI – Fantasy Interactive) that brought us the Porsche Bloodlines microsite, this new microsite is worth a nose around if you’re interested in the DNA behind the Porsche brand.