The NSX arrived in 1990 and immediately made the Europeans uncomfortable.
Ferrari hired extra test drivers. Porsche quietly reviewed the 911 programme. The NSX was not supposed to exist — not from Honda, not at that price point, not with that level of polish. But here it was: a mid-engine, aluminium-bodied sports car that handled better than most of its competition... and never broke down.
Ayrton Senna had a hand in the development. He pushed the suspension team hard during testing at Suzuka — the car was too stiff, too unresponsive at the limit. His exact words was that the car was "fragile".
His input changed the setup permanently. Supposedly you feel it in how the car communicates: each corner narrated through the steering wheel, rather than just managed.
The C30A engine is 3.0 litres, naturally aspirated, and VTEC. At 270 horsepower it doesn't look impressive on paper in 2026. But the high rev limit tell a different story — it pulls hard to 8,000rpm, and the transition at 5,800 when the second cam profile kicks in is one of the better moments available to a driver who isn't spending six figures. It sounds like it really wants to be there, or more accurately, that it was made to be there.
The interior is narrow and low. Everything is placed for a driver, not a passenger. More like a jet than a street legal car. The outward visibility is extraordinary by modern standards — you can see the nose, place the front wheels, sense the car's width on a country road. Honda wanted their 'pilots' to feel connected rather than insulated. They nailed it.
The NSX occupies a specific position in the JDM classic canon. It sits alongside the podium with the GT-R and the RX-7 as the greatest sports cars to leave Japan, each earning their place through their unique proposition: AWD & inline 6. RWD & rotary. Rear mid-mounted V6 & RWD.
The NSX doesn't have the sophisticated AWD or brutal power of the GT-R, and it doesn't have a unique engine or a classically beautiful silhouette like the RX-7. Instead, it offers a Japanese alternative to the mid-engined supercars the Italians are more known for, however with restraint, refinement and subtletly.
It's inherently Honda, distinctly Japanese, and worthy of its rising valuations.
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Special thanks to Collecting Cars, original ad here.
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