One-of-ten Formula Red Honda NSX-R for sale
You've seen pricey NSXs before, but never like this...
Nothing can cheese you off like the car you’ve been dreaming about suddenly becoming out of reach. Having grown up as a rally fan lusting after Lancia Delta HF Integrale Evos and Subaru Impreza 22Bs, it’s something I’m more than familiar with. But in this world of ever more powerful, ever more complicated and ever more expensive supercars, the simple, analogue thrills once deemed old hat become the hottest property.
Of course, there are still loads of modern classics out there that’ll serve as an antidote to today’s big, cumbersome performance cars without burning a giant hole in your pocket. For instance, there’s always a steady stream of old BMW M cars going to auction, like this sublime E39 M5, or how about this one-owner from new 1M. And just have a look at this TVR Tuscan. So there’s plenty of fun to be had well below the six-figure mark. It’s just that if you want the really special stuff, especially if it’s Japanese and from the '90s, that’s when you’ll need to go digging around the back of the sofa. And you’re going to need to dig very deep for this Honda NSX-R.
The Honda NSX will be a bucket list car for many, and rightly so. A lightweight, all-aluminium chassis (the first of its kind), a kerb weight of just 1,370kg and a superb naturally aspirated V6 established the blueprint for an all-time great supercar. The NSX didn’t trouble itself with headline power figures, abiding with the 280hp cap that Japanese manufacturers had agreed on at the time, nor did it bother with outdoing Lamborghini and Ferrari with an outlandish design. All that mattered to Honda is that it built a supercar people would actually want to go out and drive, while returning in one piece to do the whole thing again the following day.
Nevertheless, Honda knew it could make the NSX even more driver-focused, so it set about making a lighter, more focused R version. The car you see here is the second iteration, using the fixed headlight NA2 platform that arrived in 2002. Along with all the improvements that came with the final facelift (wider rear tyres and revised suspension), the NSX-R came with a hefty weight reduction over the standard car. Carbon fibre was used for the bonnet, boot lid, spoiler and mirrors, while a pair of achingly cool, kevlar-backed Recaro buckets helped lighten the load, too. Factor in the lightweight wheels and you get a 90kg saving over the standard NSX.
And that’s not it. Power steering? Gone. Radio and air con? In the skip. Honda didn’t see a need to put much sound deadening in, either, which just means you can hear that V6 bark all the more clearly. The engine itself was hand-built using techniques usually reserved for its racing cars, with all the core components meticulously examined for imperfections and improvements. Naturally, the suspension was stiffened and tuned to work with the lighter platform, and the brakes were upgraded for greater stopping power. It was, and still is, the ultimate NSX-R.
No wonder they’ve long been hot property, then, particularly as they were only ever sold in Japan. A few have made their way over here, though, much like this Formula Red example, of which only 10 were reportedly made. So it’s an extremely rare car in an extremely rare colour. You can see where this is going, right? Drum roll for the price… which is, incredibly, £729,995. We’ve seen some punchy NSX-Rs before, but this is the first one we’ve seen that’s knocking on the door of three-quarters of a million quid. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, really, given the direction rare JDM cars are going in at the moment, nor would it be all that surprising to see it snapped up. On a positive note, it’s not eligible for US export yet, so you’ve still got a couple of years to go before the tech billionaires can put an offer in...
A car with such overhangs shouldn’t work but just does (& yes I’ve seen the photoshopped short tail and no it doesn’t work) and I’ve always liked the faired in headlights since they came out.
It’s amazing the standard car only needed an increase in wheel diameter and the headlights updating to keep it looking fresh-a sign of a great design.
Not much poke, and having driven a couple (of standard none R ones) I actually don’t believe the hype around the handling-they are tricky at the limit with an abnormally high feeling roll centre that will catch you with lift off oversteer.
Not that I’ve driven one but from what I’ve heard about the McLaren F1, I expect they drive somewhat similar. Maybe the R resolved all that?
is amazing. Much better than a contemporary 355 I had (and sold). The only car of that era that comes close I would say is a 997, also a great handling car and much underrated.
You can get one of those for around £100k, a bit more affordable and truly special cars (I ve had one for 20 years which tells you a lot, I’d never sell it!)
And servicing is cheap with parts readily available from Honda, although mine has never broken down in the 20 years I’ve had it.
Specials rarely make sense financially.
Look at
997 GT3 4.0
McLaren 675 LT
Ferrari 458 Speciale etc etc.
All great cars, but not worth the premium on the experience alone unless money really is no object.
Specials rarely make sense financially.
Look at
997 GT3 4.0
McLaren 675 LT
Ferrari 458 Speciale etc etc.
All great cars, but not worth the premium on the experience alone unless money really is no object.
We took a load of them over the Europe a few years ago, one guy i his NA1 NSX-R. After a couple of days the poor bloke looked beaten!
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