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SEPTEMBER 2018
Honda NSX
YOU WON ’ T SEE TOO MANY OF THESE .
BUT KNOW THAT THOSE WHO HAVE CHOSEN ,
HAVE CHOSEN WI SELY
I’ve been around. The actual block.
To the extent that when the original
Honda NSX was launched I was there.
In 1990. Sigh. But you know what?
That’s a couple of days I wouldn’t
hand back. An all-new, mid-engined
supercar from a manufacturer that,
while known for all things utterly
sensible and reliable on-road, had also
powered a series of Formula One world
champions on the track, the greatest –
Ayrton Senna – among them.
There were surprises at every turn.
A striking silhouette with a cockpit
modelled on the F-16 jet fighter.
Aluminium construction. A three-litre,
270bhp, V6 engine that revved to the
sky and sounded like a Welsh male
voice choir clearing collective throats.
It was special. Special enough, in fact,
to best the equivalent Ferrari of the
time, the bloated 348.
The first-generation NSX lived until
2005 – its extended, 15-year lifecycle a
measure of its stand-alone nature. It’s
spoken of, even now, with reverence
among car enthusiasts, and examples
that remain rarely change hands.
Sadly, following the financial crisis at
the turn of the decade, its successor
never saw the light of day. And it would
take another 10 years for the NSX
nameplate to live again.
Better late than never. And there
are, once more, surprises at every
turn. Honda’s revived supercar has
been styled not in Japan, but at its
California hub. The result is muscular,
well proportioned, with an air of drama
here and there. If a mid-engined
Corvette existed, you’d imagine it
might look like this. No bad thing.
And there’s another mid-mounted
V6, this time a 3.5-litre with twin
turbochargers and 500bhp, nearly
twice its predecessor. And that’s
before counting either the 47bhp
electric motor fixed to the back of
the engine, or the two 36bhp electric
motors that drive each of the front
wheels.
The result in terms of performance
is borderline absurdity, albeit
delivered with velvet thrust: 0-62mph
in 3.3 seconds, aided by launch
control, on the cusp of what feels
physically desirable such is the force
of acceleration in your chest. Heaven
only knows it’s deeply impressive,
though. And you want to do it again
and again.
The nine-speed, double-clutch
gearbox is a decent auto but a razor-
sharp flappy-paddle manual, ideal
for pushing on cross-country, and a
sonorous growl from behind your ears
soon delivers a grin hooked over them.
There’s poise and grip in
abundance, and the ride holds up
on broken B-roads, too, so for all the
big numbers the NSX is a friend when
you’re in need – to the extent, that
should you be in the market, the reborn
Honda should be on your shortlist.
It’s as slick and sophisticated as it
is swift, but it’s every-day usable and,
whisper it, there won’t be many here.
And we rather like exclusive.
THE DETAILS
3.5l, twin-
turbocharged
V6, 500bhp,
476lb/ft torque,
plus three
electric motors
with 119bhp,
0-62mph in 3.3
seconds, top
speed 191mph,
nine-speed
automatic,
28mpg
combined,
£143,020,
honda.co.uk“It’s as slick and
sophisticated as it is swift,
but it’s every-day usable
and, whisper it, there
won’t be many here. And
we rather like exclusive”
Take-off / Motoring