Is history repeating itself for the Honda NSX? Once upon a time the mid-engined Honda sports car was widely acclaimed, technologically advanced, innovative and fast; however, it struggled for much success in the UK because customers here didn't want to pay £60k for a Honda. Nowadays we have a mid-engined, freakishly clever, immensely fast and properly exciting NSX... that isn't proving that popular against rivals from McLaren, Porsche and Audi. Is the badge still influencing buying decisions?
It must be, because there's little else to fault it for. Alright, interior aside. And maybe the styling, if only because Honda previewed the car so many times (and for so many years) before the actual reveal. We'd got used to its silhouette - which was actually pretty nice - a long time before launch, and that made it familiar. There just wasn't the excitement around it that there should always be at the arrival of a new 600hp sports car. And a 600hp sports car that doesn't excite people - be they customers, or just fans - will struggle.
Which is a shame, because there was a lot underneath the car to be enthused and excited by. While the technology was formidably complex, comprising three electric motors, a nine-speed dual clutch and brake-by-wire just for starters, it was incorporated near-perfectly. Initial reviews spoke of cohesion and harmony between chassis, brake, engine and gearbox technology, surely no small feat given how much was going on. It offered something different to the usual suspects, too, distilling a lot of the hybrid hypercar tech into a package hundreds of thousands of pounds less expensive. Still not convinced? Watch the Chris Harris review on Top Gear. He's not keen on all that much, after all...
Yet here we are, more than three years after cars went on sale, and there are 81 NSXs registered on the road in the UK. Even excluding Longtails and Spiders, there are more than 500 Sport Series McLarens around - not exactly a common car. So what does that mean for the NSX as a used prospect?
Well, for starters, there are a few to choose from: this 130R is the feature car, but there are others of a similar mileage available and a nearly new example for sale as well. Furthermore, while rarity typically suggests a strong residual performance, the NSX's frosty reception from the buying public has meant the opposite. This car, with the optional £8k ceramic brakes, would have cost somebody £155k in 2017; two thousand miles later and it's on offer at £95,000. Even an Audi R8, albeit with a newer number plate, could cost £120k with similar mileage.
Surely now, therefore, the NSX is a more enticing proposition. Because it's easy to get a new 992 Carrera to that money (with 200hp less), and it's substantially less than the alternatives that have arrived since launch, cars like the Aston Vantage and BMW M8. Heck, this is Jaguar F-Type money. For one of the most technologically advanced performance cars of the past decade.
The trend shown thus far would suggest the NSX still has some depreciating to do, though name a rival that doesn't have any more money to lose. What's surely on offer is a sports car experience unlike any other, for an enormous amount less money than it originally cost. With NSX history having largely repeated itself until now, let's hope this gets the recognition it deserves at some point to prevent values plummeting as the original once did. But until then, there might be a canny buy or two to be had...
SPECIFICATION | HONDA NSX
Engine: 3,493cc V6 turbocharged with direct-mounted electric motor/generator, 2x front axle motor/generators
Transmission: 9-speed DCT, rear-wheel drive, independently driven front axle
Power (hp): 507@6,500rpm (petrol engine only), 581hp total
Torque (lb ft): 406@2,000-6,000rpm (petrol engine only), 476lb ft total
MPG: 28 (combined)
CO2: 228g/km
First registered: 2017
Recorded mileage: 2,300
Price new: £149,950 (before options)
Yours for: £94,995
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