Honda NSX
Reviewed by Unique Cars and Parts
Our Rating: 4
Introduction
In 1991 Honda was to release undoubtedly their finest
car, and a worthy flagship for the marque, the mighty
NSX. Graced with sleek and purposeful styling, the NSX
was embodied with a sublime rear-wheel drive chassis and
a fantastic mid-mounted V6 engine - the only thing lacking
was the cache of its European rivals.
At the time, Honda was heavily involved in F1 and this
drove the inspiration for the car. Development of the
car was aided by the input of the late, great Ayrton Senna,
with the design being revised in 2002 and the current
model NSX featuring both Coupe and NSX-T targa-topped
models.
US press releases in 1991 gave an insight to the philosophy
behind the building of such a car..."Our goal in
building the Acura NSX is to produce a new-generation,
limited-production, handcrafted, mid-engine exotic sports
car. One that would create a new synthesis between the
often contradictory targets of high performance and mechanical
refinement."
"In short, a bona fide
exotic, but one without the ergonomic and reliability
penalties often associated with this type of car.
The
NSX would have the performance potential of the heavyweight
exotics that are generally equipped with V-8 or V-12 engines,
and at the same time the quick response and agile
handling of lightweight sports cars."
"It would
also offer the comfort and interior amenities of mass-produced
sports cars. But more important than this, the NSX would
actually enlarge the performance envelope.
Through the
use of new technologies, the
handling and performance
limits have expanded beyond the capabilities of conventional
exotic sports cars."
The F-Matic
automatic transmission with
steering wheel-mounted
paddleshifts was always an expensive option. There were two
engine choices, the 3179cc V6, which develops 276bhp in
the (six-speed) manual models and the 3.0 V6, producing
256bhp in the F-Matic versions.
Praised by motoring journalists, and perhaps the only
true supercar to have originated from Japan, we only
mark down the NSX for collectability as they are still
being manufactured and suffer hideous depreciation in
the first few years of their life.