Honda NSX | Spotted
Arguably the best non-R NSX, and a manual to boot. You know where this is going...
Few carmakers can keep a supercar relevant quite like Honda did with the NSX. The 1990s through to the turn of the millennium saw radical changes in automotive styling, where designers discovered they could use other instruments in conjunction with a ruler to shape the look of new cars. Just look at the difference between an E36 BMW M3 and an E46. It’s night and day. Yet the NSX, a supercar designed and developed in the late ‘80s, felt just as fresh in 2005 as it would have done at launch in 1990.
Obviously, Honda fettled the NSX during its 15-year production run to keep up with the Joneses. A hefty update in 1997 saw the engine capacity increase from 3.0 to 3.2 litres, along with a raft of engine upgrades that saw power rise by 20hp, while a new six-speed manual gearbox introduced an extra ratio and shortened all the others for better acceleration. But it was 2002 that properly gave the supercar a new lease of life, with revised suspension and overhauled styling delivering arguably the best version of the NSX ever made. Shame it had to come at the expense of pop-up headlights, though.
You know where this is going, don’t you? Here we have a facelifted, NA2 generation Honda NSX for sale, with a six-speed manual, with only 17,300 miles clocked since it rolled off the forecourt in 2004. One of the most sought-after, non-R NSXs on the planet, seemingly kept in incredibly good nick and finished in Formula Red. All yours for £145,000. Seems like only yesterday we were marking one of the first NSXs to break the six-figure barrier, and in that article Matt referenced that it wasn’t that long ago when a PHer was asking just £45,000 for an original NSX-R. Anyone got a time machine we can borrow?
Needless to say, of course, old things appreciating in value has been a thing since dinosaurs roamed the Earth, and a car as legendary as the old NSX was always going to go the way of the R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R and other Gran Turismo staples. But at least in the NSX’s case you’re getting a car that never got a proper successor (the hybrid NSX is a whole other thing), nor is there anything contemporary that offers what the original did; a glorious naturally aspirated V6 with a McLaren F1-like bark paired with a lightweight aluminium chassis that delivers one of the purest analogue drives one can hope to experience.
So obsessed was Honda with refining the NSX’s dynamics over the years that it all but neglected the interior. Put an NA1 and NA2 next to each other and you’ll barely tell them apart inside. Heck, even this 2004 example, made just a year before Honda pulled the plug on production, still has a tape player right in the middle of the dashboard even though cassettes had become pretty much obsolete by that point. On the plus side, you do get a pair of very '90s leather seats that are incredibly comfy and, on this car, look as though they’ve barely been touched.
Whether that’s worth nearly £150k of your hard-earned cash is ultimately up to you, and we won't pretend it isn't a shame that the days of bargain NSXs are now long gone (unless you want an auto, but even they’re starting to command serious money). There are a million reasons why the mid-engined Honda is fabled, though, and it makes a strong case for itself for being the greatest supercar to come out of Japan. Get one while you can, and never find yourself wanting more from a car ever again. Unless it’s a CD player you’re after...
SPECIFICATION | HONDA NSX (NA2)
Engine: 3,179cc V6
Transmission: six-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 294@7,300rpm
Torque (lb ft): 224@5,300rpm
MPG: 23.7
CO2: N/A
Year registered: 2004
Recorded mileage: 17,300
Price new: £60,000
Yours for: £145,000
£65kish in Japan is more like it (unless my maths is very wrong), but then you have VAT and Duty to get it here.
I get too excited on the Japanese equivalent of autotrader thinking i can buy and R34 GTR or NSX Type R half price, but then the reality of getting it here means its not the bargain i thought it was.
https://www.carsensor.net/usedcar/detail/AU0445251... - 78k Type R
No thanks.
Was pretty much up against an F430 when it retired. The game had moved on and I'm not sure the upgrades that Honda made were really that significant in comparison. Given the issues that some would have had with the badge you can start to understand why they sold so few after the turn of the century...
It's compromised in many ways against more modern cars but it will always be an icon to me. Mind you - I'd be looking at the assorted available sub-100k cars ahead of this one!
… Whoever spends this money on a standard NSX or any is just barmy lol… But if you had to… Would have to be and only be the R… This is dog food for the paid up and stupid… Rich people wouldn’t actually buy this at all!!! So it’s for idiots… No thanks.
okay… I think I read that wrong… lol… Yes a F430 is a wayyyyy better choice with a wayyyy better engine
It'd double its mileage and get dirty within 3mths if I owned it, having its value at least.
I've been in shock for the last few years on car prices. I think it's one of those "you know you're getting old when...." moments
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff