Honda NSX | PH Heroes
The NSX is about to have its restomod moment - what better time to revisit Honda's mythic icon?
Sometimes it can be hard to believe that the Honda NSX and 964-era Porsche 911 are contemporaries. Both were launched in 1989, both were six-cylinder sports cars that cost a similar amount - and yet they could hardly have been more different. The Porsche was the latest in a long line of air-cooled two-doors already stretching back a quarter of a century by then, updated and upgraded once more but with a very traceable lineage back to much older stuff. The NSX was like something from another planet by comparison, with its VTEC-enabled V6 in the middle, interior that made sense, and silicon-age demeanour.
As classic cars, too, the stories of the 964 and the NSX are drastically different. Once the Porsche became cheap, people modified them; because that was Porsche tradition, yes, but also there was plenty that could be improved. Singer Vehicle Design was founded 15 years after the last 964 was made, tellingly. The Honda, on the other hand... well, when they were down below £20,000 (yes, it really did happen), owners just carried on driving them in standard form. You don’t really see modified NSXs, certainly not to the same degree as 964s - despite coming from the country and the time that it did - and that must have something to do with just how sorted they were from the factory.
Indeed, it’s taken until 2025, two decades since the original went out of production and more than 35 years since it was first seen, for an attempt at NSX reimagination to emerge. And even that involves an officially sanctioned Honda racing partner and Pininfarina. An NSX restomod is not just going to appear from people you’ve not heard of, as has happened with quite a few others. Partly that’s due to how much a donor car now costs, but also - to be frank - how do you go about improving the original viceless sports car?
It’ll be fascinating to see just what comes of the JAZ-Pininfarina collaboration. For now, a revisit of the NSX seemed in order; it was welcomed into the Heroes hall of fame long ago, though an awful lot has changed since then. While the original significance remains unaltered - the first cars arriving at a time of the final Countaches and E24 6 Series, like a MacBook at Bletchley Park - how does it continue to stack up as a modern classic? Put most simply, the first NSX is now worth more than it ever has been: does the experience still live up to that?
You’ll never tire of looking at one, that’s for sure. That rear end is as iconic as the four rings of a GT-R, if not more so, a signature that everyone will recognise. As we move further away from the '90s, so the NSX only looks smaller, daintier and prettier; it's low and slender yet with enormous presence. What once seemed perhaps a bit dorky now speaks to Honda's attention to detail. Apart from when it came to replacing the pop-ups; that apparently wasn’t done with much thought at all.
The interior isn’t quite so pretty, but then that was always the point of the NSX, eschewing flamboyance for functionality. Or the very opposite of the sports car building mantra up till then. Therefore, unlike some contemporaries, switches and buttons are where you might expect to find them, the dials are beautifully legible and the driving position accommodates above-average-sized humans - novel ideas that would soon catch on. And which remain very useful today, let’s be honest; if an old car is being saved for special occasions, the last thing you’ll want to do is have to remember how it works. You want to get on with enjoying it.
Indeed, it could well be argued that the NSX’s influence can still be felt all these decades later. Because the current crop of junior supercars like the McLaren Artura and Ferrari 296, though now embellished with huge amounts of hybrid horsepower, make use of 8,000rpm 3.0-litre(ish) V6s, mounted behind the driver and with rear-wheel drive. Kerbweight is kept as low as possible. They’re a cinch to operate and see out of, yet can thrill like nothing else on the road. Which all sounds very familiar.
This Honda remains remarkably simple to operate, though it’s notable how the definition of ‘simple’ has changed since its introduction. Because there’s definitely some weight and resistance to the controls here, an almost alien concept in a by-wire world, but with great accuracy and sensation also. There’s no slack, no delay, no hesitation, just that reassuring heft to the steering and the shift of a proper machine. It’s more than happy to be subjected to the demands of everyday life (and a photoshoot), too: an NSX can dawdle at very few revs in a high gear, won’t begrudge endless shunting around, and doesn’t require kid gloves to operate. Reverse goes in as easily as first does in most manual gearboxes. The air con does a fine job; the aerial still rises and falls obligingly, a feature that will make no sense at all to anyone under the age of about 28. It all just works. Which was always the NSX thing, of course, but is now perhaps all the more impressive given the vintage.
Certainly, the average bystander would think nothing of the engine below 4,000 rpm or so. The NSX starts and idles like a Civic— or a Legend, perhaps, given the configuration— humming like a Singer (sewing machine) and pretty unassuming in truth. But the magic is never far away: open the throttle fully once a few thousand revs are on the dial, and the NSX snarls with that unmistakable induction timbre, as raw and thrilling as any six since. With more revs comes more and more energy, VTEC fully on song, and metallic rasp intensifying as 8,000 rpm nears. Fairly modest power by today’s standards, and lengthy ratios mean you can luxuriate in every gear, bathe in the sound, and risk anything. Maybe lacking a bit of ultimate four-cylinder VTEC fizz is absolutely worth it for the V6’s musicality.
All of which would be appealing enough on its own, but mated to probably the best manual gearbox ever makes the NSX powertrain truly unforgettable. There must be people out there who write about firearms, comparing the action of a rifle bolt to a Honda gear change; it’s so precise, so tactile, so satisfying, every single time. JAZ have said they’ll liberate a few extra horsepower from the V6, no doubt very expensively, though hopefully, the gearbox is left well alone. Apart from a lower final drive, perhaps. Everything about it is complete perfection.
The relative lack of speed, plus the effort required and the compliant ride, means there’s definitely a retro feel to the way an NSX goes down a road. At last, really: for so long it seemed like this was the modern sports car benchmark. While there was always some fear surrounding on-limit behaviour, the NSX is a joy below that. There’s a sense that that engine is quite high up behind you, as opposed to right down in the belly of the beast where it would be now, but never does it seem like getting away from you. That placement ensures superb agility and traction, which the relative narrowness of the tracks and body only encourages you to exploit. Just 1,400kg or so means that compliance can be smartly balanced with tautness on a passive setup. It wants driving, it wants consideration, and there’s ample reward for doing both. Like so many great cars, the NSX feels so cohesive and all-of-a-piece: for spirited road use, speed, grip, braking and damping are all in superb harmony. What was once exotic, futuristic and ambitious is now a glorious reminder of how charming the simple things done well can be.
Indeed, perhaps the issue with the NSX now, and one totally not of its own causing, is the thrill on offer with the prices now being asked. Because a £50k prospect, as it was the last time we wrote about these cars, is a very different one to a £100,000 modern classic, as they are today. Where eminent usability might have been a boon for semi-regular use, that’s simply not going to happen with them now. And if it’s going to be kept for occasional use, then maybe - just maybe - you might crave a little more speed, a little more drama, a little more challenge. Or you might love the idea of a car that feels special any time, any place, come rain or shine. Certainly, the NSX’s hero status remains undimmed. Whatever is conjured by JAZ and Pininfarina next year, using this as its blueprint ought to make the result utterly spectacular.
SPECIFICATION | HONDA NSX
Engine: 3,179cc V6
Transmission: 6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 280@7,300rpm
Torque (lb ft): 220@5,300rpm
0-62mph: 5.7 sec
Top speed: 168 mph
Weight: 1,410kg
On sale: 1990-2005
Price new: £59,995
Price now: c. £80,000+
It might be heresy but I think I prefer the NA2 look. I think it stems from pop up lights already starting to look old fashioned when I was just getting into cars in the early 90's.
I think the styling is a bit gawky and had a good poke around one precovid when prices were not stupid - it did nothing for me. The practical everyday interior is pretty dull.
Bought a 997 gt3 instead - wish I’d kept that.
Suggesting the nsx inspired current layout of supercars is disingenuous / misguided. Far more due to legislation and emissions than that rose tinted guff.
Happy that owners love theirs though.
Thank you for that line!
Actually, if one removes the console insert/gaiter assy, one will find a Ferrari-style gate-plate.
Other than perhaps a re-trim, I'm not sure about a restomod.
Replacing the big, friendly radio volume knob with a bloody touchscreen would be an anathema.
I'm sure someone will think ruining the handling with wheelz would be an improvement.
Just a few random comments on ownership:
1. It is actually a very small car, its exactly the same length as a 996 & 997 but has a longer wheelbase than the Porsches. When I bought mine I was checking it would fit in my garage (because they look long) and had to keep rechecking as I couldn't believe how small it actually was. On the road you feel tiny in it - I have an MX5 as well and they feel similar size to drive.
2. You have to completely re-learn the mental association of sound-to-engine revs. Your brain is always telling you to change up as the engine begins to wail at about 4000 - 4500 rpm, but you've still got another 4000 rpm to the red line. So I tend to drive on the rev counter until my brain re-learns the sound of 6000 rpm to change up.
When my wife drives it, she keeps changing up at 2500 rpm thinking that it's getting a bit noisy! A few times I have said to her "don't change up until I tell you" - and she always chickens out!
When I first had mine, I put a post up on here saying after 3 months I hadn't been above 4500 rpm yet and got a lot of flack!
3. You sometime hear people say that they drove one for an hour once and were unimpressed - I suspect that the above is the reason. Once you have the confidence to keep the revs high and push on if is quite a thrilling car.
4. The engine has a massive amount of torque, it just pulls and pulls in any gear. I find that I have to remember what gear I'm in as the torque is always there dominating the feel. I can sometimes drive around town in 4th not realising.
5. The engine has two very different characters, below about 4500 rpm you feel are driving on torque and above 5500 rpm you feel you are driving on rpms. At low speeds it feels like a puppy on a leash - it's desperate to go faster. I'd maybe describe t as feeling like a V8 below 4500 rpm and a highly strung V6 race engine above 4500 rpm.
6. Although the engine is a 90 deg V6 it doesn t have balancer shafts, I believe because the engines were blueprinted and tolerances of the crank were so high it could go without one. This gives it a very lumpy sound a idle. The above articles comment about it idling like a Civic doesn't sound right - its lumpy and throaty at idle.
7. The engine braking can be very aggressive, if you are holding a low gear, when you lift off for a corner it feels like you are pressing the brakes. I think this is due to the light internals allowing the engine revs to drop very quickly when you lift off?
8. You can hear everything mechanical happening, when you change gear you hear the linkages, hear the drive engage, hear the gearbox etc. It makes you feel very connected to the car.
9. It's amazingly compliant over rough roads, it seems to just glide over potholes, rough surfaces etc.
10. The steering has amazing feedback but it is very raw and heavy (mine is non-PAS). You have to be a little careful changing down coming into corners as the steering weights up as you slow and you sometimes have to be quite physical about turning in. I tend to avoid driving with only one hand on the wheel through corners because the weight can catch you out as you slow.
11. The build quality is phenomenal for a 30 year-old car nothing rattles or shakes and if feels like it will last forever.
If I think of anything else I'll drop it in here - any questions just ask!
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