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Honda NSX - the harmonious anti-Ferrari from the Far East

Name: Acura NSX 1990
Brand: Acura

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Created on February 13, 2015

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Honda / Werk

Bruno von Rotz

Dan Morgan (mendaman)

Jean-Marc Teissedre

Archiv

Honda / Werk

Bruno von Rotz

Dan Morgan (mendaman)

Jean-Marc Teissedre

Archiv

121

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Honda NSX (1991) - Aluminum mid-engined sports car from Japan

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Honda NSX (1991) - the trunk was not intended in this form at the beginning

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Honda NSX (1991) - typical, the black roof

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Honda HP-X Pininfarina (1984) - mid-engined prototype with Formula 2 V6 engine

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Acura NSX (1989) - Announcement and presentation at the Chicago Motor Show in February 1989

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Acura NSX (1990) - View of the V6 from the front

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Acura NSX (1990) - even before the launch

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Acura NSX (1990) - Type lettering on the door opener

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Acura NSX (1990) - the standard alloy wheels

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Honda NSX (1990) - test drives with Ayrton Senna at the wheel at the Nürburgring

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Honda NSX (1990) - Test drives on the Nordschleife

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Honda NSX (1990) - Test drives on the race track

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Acura NS-X prototype (1990) - ready for series production

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Acura NS-X prototype (1990) - the prototype, like the production vehicles, had a self-supporting aluminum body

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Acura NSX (1990) - Front view of the production version

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Honda NSX (1991) - the black roof was standard

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Honda NSX (1991) - the basic shape remained unchanged for years

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Honda NSX (1991) - elegantly integrated rear spoiler

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Honda NSX (1991) - very safe mid-engined sports car

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Honda NSX (1991) - Interior with leather as standard

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Honda NSX (1991) - Steering wheel and dashboard

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Honda NSX (1991) - transverse-mounted V6 engine with VTEC valve control

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Acura NS-X prototype (1990) - largely corresponding to the series

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Acura NSX (1991) - in classic red-black color combination

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Acura NSX (1991) - production version for the USA

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Acura NSX (1991) - Presentation of the production version

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Acura NSX (1992) - for the American market

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Acura NSX (1993) - silver was initially the only metallic color available

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Honda NSX (1991) - Technical sketch; exterior dimensions

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Honda NSX (1991) - Technical sketch; All-round view

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Honda NSX (1991) - Technical sketch; good all-round visibility for a mid-engined car

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Honda NSX (1991) - Technical sketch; V6 engine

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Honda NSX (1991) - Technical sketch; Variable valve timing VTEC

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Honda NSX (1991) - Technical sketch; Variable intake system VVIS

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Honda NSX (1991) - Technical sketch; Engine performance diagram

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Honda NSX (1991) - Technical sketch; NSX side view, left

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Honda NSX (1991) - Technical sketch; independent suspension

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Honda NSX (1991) - Technical sketch; rear suspension

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Honda NSX (1991) - Technical sketch; front suspension

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Honda NSX (1991) - Technical sketch; five-speed manual gearbox

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Acura NSX (1993) - a large proportion of all NSXs were delivered in the USA

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Acura NSX (1993) - Red was one of the most requested colors

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Acura NSX (1994) - with modified aluminum wheels

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Acura NSX (1994) - unchanged basic shape

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Acura NSX (1995) - first with T-bar roof solution

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Honda NSX (1994) at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1994 - Kremer Honda Racing

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Honda NSX (1994) at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1994

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Honda NSX (1994) at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1994 - German Armin Hahne drove in No.48

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Honda NSX (1995) at the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans - Although the works team was at the start with two turbo versions of the NSX, only this NSX from the private team Kunimitsu Honda crossed the finish line and was the class winner!

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Honda NSX at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1996 - The Honda NSX competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1994 to 1996. In 1996, 3rd place was achieved in the GT2 class.

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Honda NSX at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1996 - The Honda NSX competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1994 to 1996. In 1996 it achieved 3rd place in the GT2 class.

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Acura NSX (1997) - the transverse-mounted V6 3.0-liter

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Acura NSX (1997) - manual version, but the automatic was very popular in the USA

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Acura NSX (1999) - Alessandro Zanardi with his NSX, there were 50 copies of the Zanardi edition

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Honda NSX (2005) - late version without folding headlights

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Honda NSX (1991) - the self-supporting aluminum body

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Honda NSX (2005) - the interior looks a little smoothed out

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Honda NSX (2005) - late version, the rear hardly changed at all

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Acura NS-X Prototype (1990) - Interior of the prototype

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Honda NSX Concept (2014) - a look into the future

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Honda NSX Concept (2014) - the planned successor

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Honda NSX Concept (2014) - at the presentation

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Acura NSX (2014) - Prototype as race car in MidOhio

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Acura NSX Concept (2014) - at the Beijing Motor Show

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Honda NSX (2015) - production version, presented in Detroit

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Summary

With the NSX, Honda set out in 1989 to give the sports car top dogs Ferrari, Porsche and Lamborghini a run for their money with an innovative, fast and yet uncompromising mid-engined sports car. Despite very good reviews, the car was not a huge success; not even 600 units were sold in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in 15 years. The NSX has remained correspondingly rare. This report tells the story of the Honda/Acura NSX and shows it in historical photos and the original sales brochure.

This article contains the following chapters

Pininfarina's predecessor
Presentation of the near-production prototype in Chicago
Production version at the end of 1990
Only six cylinders ...
... but with the finest ingredients
Between Civic charm and top class
Top marks from the testers
Too good?
Continuous improvement, long life
Surprisingly unpretentious
A rarity in Europe
NSX in motorsport
Further information

Estimated reading time: 8min

Preview (beginning of the article)

When people thought of Honda cars at the end of the 1980s, they imagined the compact Civic or the family-friendly Accord, but hardly a sports car. Although there had already been sporty Hondas like the S800 in the sixties, hardly anyone dared to think of a prestigious mid-engined two-seater that would rival Ferrari, Porsche and Lamborghini. Except the Honda people themselves ... As early as 1984, a Honda mid-engine study called "HP-X" was presented for the first time in Turin, which had been clothed by the design master Pininfarina. The futuristic car had a drag coefficient of 0.25 and the body was of composite construction. Production plans for the prototype, which was powered by a Formula 2 V6 two-liter engine, were already being hinted at at the time, but a much simpler production version was to be expected. The decision to launch a high-performance sports car on the market had already been made in Montreux in 1982.

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