1991 HONDA NSX 3.0 V6 5MT (273 HP)

Vehicle Overview

It was unusual for a mass-market automaker to create a supercar, but Honda did it anyway and in 1990 unveiled the NSX; New Sportscar eXperimental.

Soichiro Honda was still alive when the car was launched. Even though he was too old to participate in the car’s development, his team made this dream possible. Honda aimed to create a daily driver supercar. It aimed at the famous Ferrari 348, and the result was stunning. Even the famous Formula 1 Champion Ayrton Senna contributed to the car’s development.

The car was unveiled at the 1989 Chicago Auto Show. It wasn’t 100% ready for the production line. The initial styling was made at the Pininfarina styling center in Italy, and the greenhouse was inspired by the F16 jet fighter. The use of aluminum shaved 200 kg (440 lbs) from the body weight. The car featured aluminum independent suspension for the front and rear. The pop-up headlights were installed in the non-facelift version.

Inside, the NSX featured two low-mounted sport bucket seats that hugged their occupants and kept them safe during high-speed cornering. The instrument cluster followed the same design as the Accord from the same era. It wasn’t anything fancy.

Initially, the car was studied with a 2.0-liter V6 engine, but the idea was abandoned in favor of a 3.0-liter VTEC engine, which was used until 1997, when a new 3.2-liter unit was installed.

The standard transmission was a 5-speed manual, and in 1994 a 4-speed automatic with sequential manual shifting was available.

Honda NSX was considered the first Japanese everyday supercar due to its reliability and ease of driving. In the U.S., it was sold under the Acura badge.