Acura NSX -- 190 mph hybrid. So cool & awesome

You might think that hybrid cars, ones combining gasoline engines with electric motors, are old school given all the attention these days on fully electric cars. Actually, hybrid technology is just getting more interesting as engineers find new ways to combine the best aspects of gasoline and electric vehicles.

We've seen in it already in supercars like the Ferrari LaFerrari, McLaren P1 andPorsche 918, machines that offer high tech thrills for those with bank accounts that could re-float failing nations.

Lower down on the cost scale, there is the new Acura NSX. With prices starting at just under $160,000, it's like a supercar that's imaginable, at least for those with smaller inheritances.

Engineers at Honda, Acura's parent company, combined a turbocharged V6 engine behind the seats and three electric motors -- one providing additional power for the rear wheels and one more powering each front wheel -- for a total of573 precisely targeted horsepower. It can go from zero to 60 in under three seconds and has a top speed of over 190 miles an hour.

Clearly, fuel economy is not the first order of business here but, given all that, EPA estimates of 22 miles per gallon on the highway and 21 in the city are reasonably impressive.

Despite speeds that were substantially into triple digits, there was nothing approaching fear. Still, it was enormous fun to rip through curve after curve without ever feeling like I might need the crash helmet I was wearing. After a few laps, driving the NSX at mind-bending speeds became weirdly calming, even with the sound track of that V6 engine hitting high notes behind my head.

All thiswas done in the NSX's "Track" mode. Later I took it out on Connecticut's country roads to get a feel for other programmed driving modes -- Sport, Sport+, and Quiet -- which can be selected by fiddling with a knob.