Wednesday 25th July 2018

The £100k Honda NSX: Spotted

The NSX hits big money, but can it really be worth so much?

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Is there anything left to say about the original Honda NSX, nearly 30 years after launch? To be honest, not really. We kind of know all that really needs to be known about. We even know, which is especially pertinent to this car, that the later (2002-on) facelift is the most desirable non-R NSX, even if it did lose the pop up lamps.

But there is a fresh discussion to have on the New Sportscar eXperimental (oh, you knew that as well?) in 2018. That's because, having once upon a time written about an NA1 NSX-R at £45k, a high mileage NSX more recently at £28,000 and near enough every other possible NSX to write about, we now have this: the £100,000 Honda NSX.

As you might expect for a six-figure sum, this NSX is an absolute gem. At present it's the only post-2002 car available on PH in the UK, believed to be one of the final 12 ever produced for these shores (a 2005 reg would support that). The Platinum White Pearl with red leather combo is very rare, the car has covered less than 50,000 miles (with a Honda service 400 miles previously) and has only ever been owned by one person. If it's not the best NSX around, then it must be right up there.

But it's £100,000. The car that aimed to show up the supercar establishment is now worth as much as those very same vehicles - so can it possibly be worth a six figure sum?

Well, the NSX certainly has rarity on its side. While it's been forgotten in the years of reverence since its demise, the mid-engined Honda didn't sell all that well in the UK. Badge snobbery was a problem; buyers unconvinced of the big H at £60k when they could have had a Porsche or a Jaguar instead. What that means now is the NSX is properly scarce: see the stats of HowManyLeft, which suggests there are 147 NSXs on UK roads. And 279 Ferrari F430 F1s...

That fabled powertrain will count for much in the classic market too, the combination of that sensational VTEC V6 with a six-speed manual of equal class - something that's now unrepeatable. However nice the old 911 Carrera flat sixes might be, they're not going to match the NSX's engine for excitement.

Problem is, of course, that £100,000 buys rather more than just a 996 C2. As well as cars like this lovely 997 GT3, it also offers even more exotic possibilities: this Ferrari 360 Modena is the same money with less than 10,000 miles, and this Lamborghini Gallardo has the same mileage at two thirds the price. Even the NSX's R34 GT-R contemporary, this one seemingly about as good as the Skyline gets, is £25k less than the Honda.

A prospective buyer is not short of options, then. But those alternatives are also more common, and opportunities to buy cars as rare as the NSX, in the condition this one is in, don't come up all that often. Whenever they might come along, you can bet that one devotee is surely going to be extremely happy indeed.

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SPECIFICATION - HONDA NSX
Engine: 3,179cc V6
Power (hp): 280@7,300rpm
Torque (lb ft): 224@5,300rpm
MPG: N/A
CO2: N/A
First registered: 2005
Recorded mileage: 49,000
Price then: £c.£60k
Price now: £99,880

See the original ad here.

[Kenny Powers]

It's worth whatever someone else is willing to pay for it in order that they can have it instead of the bloke stood next to them with an equally accommodating cheque book. In the case of this car I would imagine someone will certainly pay £100k. Therefore, in my mind, yes it’s absolutely worth £100k. It’s not worth it to me, but if I were a wealthy car collector then it definitely would be

[Kenny Powers]

If no one properly cherished old things, there would soon be none left. That would be the shame. Someone wanting to keep something locked away and pampered, isn’t “shameful”. You’re free to buy one and rag it around if you prefer. Meanwhile there will still be some left in 200 years, because other people kept them locked away

[Kenny Powers]

Doesn’t matter. The net result is that the cars still exist and will continue to exist. Take it to the extreme, and do we label museums “shameful” ?

If someone wants to store a classic car then more power to them. In my opinion.