It's been quite since Honda released its last supercar. Back
then Bryan Adams was in the charts and Twitter was still something that
only birds did. That car was of course the iconic NSX, developed
with the help of a certain Ayrton Senna and his famous leather loafers and manufactured with what
was at the time groundbreaking technology. Of course, we now finally have a follow-up
in the shape of the new NSX, but it’s still this one, the original which set the pace not just for its next of kin but for every supercar since.
It’s difficult to overstate the impact of
the original NSX, which boasted razor sharp handling, incredible performance and yet all the
usability and everyday practicality of a regular Honda.
Prior to the NSX’s arrival, the general attitude towards supercars, particularly
the Italian ones was that they were fast, they were loud, and then they fell apart. But Honda proved you
could have your 300 horsepower cake and eat it too.
Featuring an aluminium-intensive construction, arguably the zenith of the naturally aspirated
engine and developed by a real F1 driver, this was the car that made Ferrari sit
up and listen. But it was also accessible to the everyman; in essence, it was the first
everyday supercar. Everyday it may have been, but its development
was anything but. Around 1984, Honda came up with a plan to create the ‘perfect’ car,
a vehicle which would be faster and better to drive than the best supercars
of the time. Its original design was penned by Pininfarina, the itialian
design company behind some of the best-loved cars
of all time, while its interior cockpit was inspired by the look of an F-16 fighter jet.
Honda incorporated technologies directly from its F1 program, including the all-aluminium
monocoque body. Every nut, every bolt and every gasket was meticulously engineered for absolute,
unerring precision – even the paintwork was a 23-step process using aerospace-grade
materials. Power for the 1990 original came from a
3.0-litre quad-cam V6, which produced 276bhp
enough to take it from 0-62mph in 5.9 seconds
and a top speed of 168mph – impressive
figures even by today's standards. Later cars like this 2005 model that we're in had their engines bored out to
3.2-litres, power therefor rose correspondingly to 290bhp, dropping the 0-62mph time to 5.7
seconds. It’s seeeeeeriously quick too, even by today's standards. And the screech of that V6
is scarcely believable.
Anyway please excuse me while I just get on and drive the thing because in truth it's hard to know which part
of this car to praise the most. The engine is incredible, the snappy action of this manual
gearbox is fantastic and the chassis balance absolutely sublime – you can thank Senna
for that one. The steering is nowhere near as quick as that
on modern performance machines and cars with the optional automatic gearbox are significantly
down on character, but everything about it’s so feelsome – Honda really knew how to build
fantastic analogue sports cars back in the day.
But the ‘perfect’ car also had to be as approachable as possible to the everyday driver;
it had supercar-beating performance, but it was also meant to be forgiving, helpful; something
your nan could drive. Dial things back from ten-tenths and it’s
a wonderfully useable car everyday, with a surprisingly comfortable suspension. Then,
ramp things back up again and the speed at which it can change direction is almost surreal.
It’s so hugely confidence inspiring that it makes anyone feel like Senna, no loafers
required. Ergonomically it was great as well with the simple
controls falling easily to hand. All round visibility is fantastic as well while the fact that
each was practically hand-built to such exacting standards means quality and reliability
are second to none. There’s a surprisingly practical boot too,
while the whole car is easy to use and fuss free, a little odd for a supercar but just like a good
Honda should be. It’s hard to believe that back in 1990,
all this came at the price of just £55,000, good luck finding one in good nick
that cheap these days – you’re looking at between £30,000 for a bit of a beater
and £90,000-plus for a low mileage well looked after example like this one.
The original NSX ish such a watershed car in so many ways that sometimes it feels like the labelling it an ‘everyday supercar'
is vastly underestimating and underselling its incredible and diverse abilities.
Few cars before or in deed since have been so bewilderingly revolutionary, and it’s entirely possible
to argue with no NSX, the modern supercar just wouldn't be what it is today. So, was it the ‘perfect’
car Honda was invisioned? Well even after all these years its hard to argue that its not.