Thursday 24th August 2017

More Honda NSXs coming to the UK!

100 sold already, 50 more on the way - who wants a 911 Turbo anyway?

---

Of all the phrases used to describe the Honda NSX, "a solid success story" hasn't so far been one of them. But that's what it's being proclaimed as from Honda UK, the first allocation of 100 being sold and 50 more on the way from Ohio.

Have you seen one yet?

And why is the success story surprising? Well as has been discussed in twin tests that have involved the NSX (is it still a New Sportscar eXperimental second time around?) and even group tests that have not, you're not exactly short of alternatives at £150,000. And the interior is a bit crap. And it still has a Honda badge on it.

But good on those buyers for taking a chance because, as has also been discussed, the NSX is pretty awesome to drive. It's different as well, and that shouldn't be discounted as a factor when expensive cars are being considered.

Want one? Well the waiting list is now down to 12 months with this new allocation, meaning yours will arrive in mid-2018. Although best be London-based, as only Crown Honda in Hendon and Chiswick Honda can sell and look after one for you. Or, of course, you could look to the used market if you're really keen... This very subtly specced NSX is for sale at £165K, while this flashier white car is just a tiny bit less. In fact nine UK NSXs - so nearly 10 per cent - are in the PH classifieds, so you're spoilt for choice!

 

[SFO]

hardly a car in huge demand if they have only sold 100 in a year, and now nearly 10% on sale ..

[unsprung]

If, as mentioned, £150,000 is the approximate list price in the UK, then it's a lamentable £ = $ policy. The US list price for the NSX is $156,000.

£150,000 is nearly $200,000.

So which costs more: the switch to RHD or swapping all of the Acura logos for the Honda?

[havoc]

Nanook said:

SFO said:

hardly a car in huge demand if they have only sold 100 in a year, and now nearly 10% on sale ..

Alternatively, they've only offered 100 for sale in this country, and they're all gone.

This. 100 cars was the year-1 allocation for the UK, which were all spoken for by about a year ago...

For some reason, Honda/Acura have restricted availability outside of the USA and Japan (presumably based on gen-1 sales profile).


More interestingly, it looks like there's a bunch of 'speculator' cars out there which are now trying to be flipped for a profit:-
- The Macari car says nothing about spec, so assume it's pretty standard...in which case they're after nearly list price for a delivery-mileage car with no options.
- The GVE car describes a number of "upgrades" which I THOUGHT were standard - only add-on I can see is the headliner, possibly the polished effect on the (standard) wheels.


Personally, my hypothetical £200k would go on the yellow Type-S Zero. Rock solid investment and probably better on the road than the NA2-R.

[mp3manager]

article said:

And it still has a Honda badge on it.

Badge snobbery matters.

[cliveju]

unsprung said:

If, as mentioned, £150,000 is the approximate list price in the UK, then it's a lamentable £ = $ policy. The US list price for the NSX is $156,000.

£150,000 is nearly $200,000.

So which costs more: the switch to RHD or swapping all of the Acura logos for the Honda?

We have 20% VAT and the £ is falling.

[unsprung]

cliveju said:

unsprung said:

If, as mentioned, £150,000 is the approximate list price in the UK, then it's a lamentable £ = $ policy. The US list price for the NSX is $156,000.

£150,000 is nearly $200,000.

So which costs more: the switch to RHD or swapping all of the Acura logos for the Honda?

We have 20% VAT and the £ is falling.

I know, Mate. I know. It's an unfortunate situation and I'm just having a bit of a laugh.

On the other hand... UK exports of irony are now more affordable than ever. And thank goodness for that, as we Americans appear to be incapable of producing sufficient quantities, ourselves

[numtumfutunch]

mp3manager said:

article said:

And it still has a Honda badge on it.

Badge snobbery matters.

Stop the smugness

Honda have a long legacy of success in F1 and if you didnt know are currently supplying a top team with most excellent hybrid power units

[ONtheROCS]

I had almost forgotten it existed. Shame.

[anonymous-user]

mp3manager said:

article said:

And it still has a Honda badge on it.

Badge snobbery matters.

To be fair I think it was a comment in relation to what you could get for £150k - basically too much to list..

In isolation, tell an average person you've just bought a £150k Honda & they'd think you were mad.

[Ho Lee Kau]

I´d want a 911 Turbo anyway.

[captain_cynic]

unsprung said:

If, as mentioned, £150,000 is the approximate list price in the UK, then it's a lamentable £ = $ policy. The US list price for the NSX is $156,000.

£150,000 is nearly $200,000.

So which costs more: the switch to RHD or swapping all of the Acura logos for the Honda?

US prices are quoted sans tax, ours include tax. Take the 20% VAT away and prices are pretty similar. If you want to see what manufacturer markups look like, price something in Australia. Something like a BMW 320i costs as much as a M240i in the UK, I guess changing the speedo from MPH to KPH is an incredibly complex and expensive procedure... And Australians only pay 10% tax.

FYI, US prices are quoted without tax as different states have different taxes.

[jason61c]

I'm a big Porsche fan, however the NSX just seems more special than a 911 turbo in every way.

[Bladedancer]

Saw one of these on a road a few weeks back.
It looks and sounds truly spectacular.
Original NSX was a bit bland compared to the Italians but this one is a different story.

[borat52]

I had a deposit down on one of these, was so excited for 3 years waiting and such a disappointment on the test drive.

You would be mad to choose one of these ahead of a mclaren/turbo S imho.

On such a supposedly sophisticated car the infotainment is quite literally 10 years out of date already. In fact it felt to me as though the whole car would have been appropriate 10 years ago.

It's certainly competent but not £150k competent.

[Bladedancer]

unsprung said:

If, as mentioned, £150,000 is the approximate list price in the UK, then it's a lamentable £ = $ policy. The US list price for the NSX is $156,000.

£150,000 is nearly $200,000.

So which costs more: the switch to RHD or swapping all of the Acura logos for the Honda?

No, this is general policy then doing USD -> GBP conversion.
This isn't just for cars.

I guess you could say it factors in VAT/taxed/duties etc. but I have a feeling a lot of it is just to get more money out of people on the old continent.

[Ed Straker]

I lost interest when i heard the car would be US built.
Not to say there is a quality issue - If Nissan can teach Geordies to build the best cars in their entire company I'm sure Honda can teach Americans to build Accuras.

No, it's because i felt the concept would dilute.

I wanted a bigger S2000, with the attention on lightness like the original NSX
What they built is a 2-seat version of my Honda Legend....
But heavier.

[havoc]

Ed Straker said:

I wanted a bigger S2000, with the attention on lightness like the original NSX

You've seen the proposals for their next project, haven't you?!?

[WillS66]

New NSX? I don't get it, I really don't.

The original was a bit of a game changer for Honda and, to some extent, for price/performance but this one? Other than to stick it in a shed somewhere and hope it appreciates (something which I despise people for doing .... partly because it's not something I can afford to do) why would someone buy this instead of any of the similarly priced competition?

Let's face it, these modern supercars all look pretty much the same (the bd offspring of a CAD program and a Wind Tunnel) so why buy this particular blancmange shaped rocket?

WillS
Confused of Camberley

[unsprung]

captain_cynic said:

Take the 20% VAT away and prices are pretty similar.

That's a good point. And any remaining overage is likely to be justified by the incremental per-unit costs of a smaller (UK) market as well as the distinction of RHD. I do believe, however, that even when nominal prices are similar, there is further disparity when Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) is applied.

captain_cynic said:

If you want to see what manufacturer markups look like, price something in Australia.

Another good point. Prices in Oz are those of another planet. A ten-year-old car may cost twice the price of the current model that's available in other countries. The world's largest workforce of LHD to RHD specialists ask for £20,000 and up to perform their bespoke conversions -- and they are kept busy full time.

Friends there say, however, that there is now a bit of relief, depending upon the vehicle you want: Australians are now allowed personal imports from Japan and the UK of vehicles that are less than 12 months old. It's not a panacea as limitations, inspections, and fees apply. But it's something.

The new NSX? Our antipodean cousins are asked to pay the equivalent of £260,000.

captain_cynic said:

FYI, US prices are quoted without tax as different states have different taxes.

I take this statement as a compliment! Apparently I don't stand out like too much of a sore thumb around here. (yee-haaw!)

[WCZ]

borat52 said:

You would be mad to choose one of these ahead of a mclaren/turbo S imho.

this, other than for the exclusivity of one