When the Japanese put their minds to something, they don’t just do it well, they do it with near perfect execution. When engineers at Honda were tasked with building a supercar they relished the challenge and produced a machine that truly deserves a place in our “Greatest Cars of All-Time” list. The result of a lot of hard work, intelligent design and basing R&D right next to the famous Suzuka race track was the NSX.
First introduced in 1990, the supercar with a fighter jet inspired field of vision was not only quick, but preserved Honda’s reputation of building bullet proof cars. Powered by a 3.0 litre VTEC V6 engine, this car was the first in the world to feature an all-aluminium monocoque. Helping develop the chassis of the NSX was none other than three times Formula One World Champion and racing legend Ayrton Senna. Producing 270BHP and getting from 0-60MPH in just 5 seconds, this car had the big supercar players worried. In fact in 1991 Motor Trend proclaimed “Ferrari, Porsche and Jaguar had been put on notice.”
The Honda NSX was not only faster than its rivals, cheaper than its rivals, more reliable than its rivals, but also drove better than its rivals. It has often been commented just how supremely balanced this mid-engined marvel is. Everything from how nimble it was on track to the extremely satisfying manual shift, the NSX delivered in bucket loads.
In 1992 the Honda NSX Type-R was introduced to the world. This machine was a more track focused version of the already astonishing standard model. The car was put on an extreme diet with it losing everything from air-conditioning to its electric seats. Total weight saving came to 120KG making the NSX-R just 1,230KG in total. The suspension was also reworked for even more responsive handling. It final drive of the engine was tinkered with resulting in a sub 5 second 0-60MPH time.
In 1995, a full 15 years after its introduction, the Honda NSX came to an end. Leaving a very big mark on the pages of supercar history, it has been sorely missed… At last, 2015 sees a successor.
Honda’s NSX is in the process of a rebirth and is set to hit the streets in 2015. The original car, which had the aid of the legendary Senna during its development, was not only a success on the road but its racing counterpart saw plenty of victories. An NSX prototype was recently shown running in public for the first time, but if that wasn’t enough to set you off salivating for the arrival of the car maybe this will…
The Honda NSX Concept-GT is a 2014 specification racing car for the Super GT500 series that is held in Japan. To take on the recently announced LF-CC racer, as well as a more establish field, the Concept-GT sure looks the part. “If it looks fast it’ll go fast.” Powered by a 2.0 litre inline-direct injection 4 cylinder turbo engine, Honda say the race car is also equipped with a racing hybrid system.
Honda’s NSX of old was a legend in its own lifetime. The car that famously benefited from the inputs of Ayrton Senna put big supercar players back in their place and won the respect of the motoring fraternity. Fantastic to drive, easy to maintain and wonderfully understated, the fans have been waiting long enough for a successor…
We have seen the new NSX in concept form, but at the next IndyCar race the supercar will make its first rolling debut. This electric blue prototype will take to the track and give us our first look at the car in maximum attack mode. Powered by a mid-mounted V6 and supplemented by electric motors, the car sends power to all four wheels. This will no doubt be an interesting insight.
It has been a long time… The automotive industry often morns dead heroes that have been discontinued for one reason or another. The Focus ST, the Civic Type-R and the Mazda RX-8 to name just a few over the past year or so. But none have been missed more than the Honda NSX. The well priced, beautifully balanced machine was sentenced to death in 2005 after 15 years of putting a smile on drivers faces. It gives me great pleasure to tell you that the NSX will return.
Wearing an Acura badge for now, this is the new Honda NSX supercar and my goodness it ticks the boxes! Not only does it look sharper than a samurai sword but it sticks to that true NSX formula of a mid-mounted V6. The evolution of technology may have killed off its predecessor, but this car is at the cutting edge. It has a hybrid mode to the hippies happy. It has a dual clutch gearbox to keep those who speculate on numbers happy. Best of all, it is driver focus just like the 1990 car was and so makes us very happy.
The new NSX is expected to hit production lines within the next 3 years.
