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Hero Cars – Episode 06 | Honda NSX
Words Tommaso Mogge / Photos Honda
You make no mistake if you consider the Honda NSX as the first proper Japanese supercar. We are in 1984, in this precise moment and with a rapidly developing Japanese automotive panorama, Honda commissions Pininfarina a project that will mark a step of fundamental importance for the brand and not only that. Initially identified with the initials HP-X (Honda Pininfarina eXperimental) and later transformed into NS-X (New Sportcar eXperimental), this new model had a very specific and rather ambitious goal, namely that of representing a high-performance sports car boasting unmistakable Italian style.
First presented at the 1989 Chicago Motor Show and produced the following year, the NSX not only left everyone speechless due to its shapes that were nothing short of unusual for a Japanese car, but showed that on the road it was perfectly capable of beating competitors like the Ferrari 348. Low on the ground, wide and with the engine positioned immediately behind the driver’s seat, it was immediately clear that this car would leave an indelible mark, screaming to the world that Japan was no longer just a land of small city cars or practical sedans. The incredible technological package that the NSX brought with it was of absolute reference and among the many things involved a lightened aluminum frame, aluminum suspension with deformable double wishbones and forged alloy wheels. Then there were titanium connecting rods, forged pistons and a 3-liter V6 with a red line set at 8,000 rpm, the result of a phantasmagoric engine that delivered 273 horsepower and 284 Nm of torque on the rear-wheels.
With a weight that did not exceed a ton and a half and an almost impeccable balance, it was precisely the rigidity of the set-up and its cornering behavior refined by Honda technicians led by the indications provided by the Formula 1 champion Ayrton Senna that made the NSX a real nightmare for European sports cars of the era. It was in fact the sports car that terrified supercars all over the world: it was all new, aesthetically wonderful and made its driver feel like the pilot of a jet fighter, also because the cockpit itself was specially designed to offer a complete view of the instrumentation and on the dimensions that the car would have occupied once unleashed on the road or on a racetrack.
Initially available with an automatic gearbox or a 5-speed manual, the NSX underwent an update in 1997, which involved some minor cosmetic changes also brought inside the cockpit. On the other hand, the introduction of a new engine, a 280 horsepower 3.2 V6, available with both automatic and manual, is significant. Between 2002 and 2005 there was a more substantial update, with the loss of the retractable headlights and with a more contemporary look. Only two engines remained available: the 255 hp 3.0 with automatic transmission and the 280 hp 3.2 with manual gearbox. However, production and overall costs continued to increase and the NSX no longer seemed to represent the perfect alternative to the more traditional European sports cars, so production was definitively discontinued in 2005. The NSX came back to life in 2016, with a model once again revolutionary and equipped with a hybrid drive, but that’s another story.
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