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This do-it-all hot hatch is an unmolested survivor and a well of '90s nostalgia.
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Films:
1991 Acura NSX: The Multi-Tool Supercar
Very cool 5k miler for sale https://seconddaily.com/daily-gear/1991-acura-nsx-5-speed-manual-1-owner-5k-miles/
Just found some behind the scenes shots but would love to see some staged photos: https://petrolicious.com/articles/gallery-behind-the-scenes-on-our-acura-nsx-film-shoot
You are probably referring to this one. I think that some one gave him a pair of white socks to wear so that you can truly see his feet. He is driving a 1989, preproduction version of the car.
Great video as always. I look forward to them. But in some of your videos, the volume level is inconsistent. This one (as with some others) was hard to hear, as the owner was something of a ‘down-talker’ and also spoke very quickly. Even using the YouTube feature to slow down the playback, I couldn’t understand some of the words.
Keep up the great work.
Gordon Murray quoted in Road & Track: “The moment I drove the ‘little’ NSX, all the benchmark cars–Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini–I had been using as references in the development of my car vanished from my mind,” said Murray. “Of course the car we would create, the McLaren F1, needed to be faster than the NSX, but the NSX’s ride quality and handling would become our new design target.”
http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a28632/acura-nsx-mclaren-f1-gordon-murray/
Such a knowledgeable and insightful owner; fun cinematic effects; and a tour of places around around LA for locals to tease out. That one lane road near Solstice Canyon. The exit to symphony hall. The 4th street bridge that makes a cameo in so many LA car films. I did not know that Honda had engaged Ayrton Senna on the NSX, but it makes sense that they did. No idea prior to this about the manual rack on the NSX. This is a very intelligently constructed little video.
Here is Road & Track commenting on Aryton Senna’s involvement with the NSX. If R&T is to believed, his involvement in the development phase lead to a meaningful increase in chassis stiffness. Of course, Senna claimed his first world championship in a McLaren-Honda so his engagement with the marque was more than transitory. http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a7407/how-ayrton-senna-made-the-acura-nsx-exceptional/
Here is Motor Trend on Senna & the NSX.
Reading between the lines, it is clear that Senna was hardly part of the development team, but since he was driving a McLaren-Honda, and since he was in Japan at the time, certainly the developers of the NSX would have made every effort to have him drive an early version of the car. And since he was perhaps the most influential F1 driver of that time, they would have listened closely to what he had to say.
On chassis design the most important point on the balance beam tends to be one between weight and stiffness. Senna is said to have put his thumb on the scale in the direction of stiffness.
“Honda engineers were well into the NSX’s development when, in February 1989, at Japan’s Suzuka circuit, they crossed paths with the Maestro, there to test his F1 McLaren-Honda. Senna obliged with a few laps in the prototype, then offered a humble but revealing critique. “I’m not sure I can really give you appropriate advice on a mass-production car,” he said, “but I feel it’s a little fragile.” The NSX was already as rigid as contemporary Ferraris and Porsches, but Senna’s extraordinary sensitivity had detected a critical weakness. After eight more grueling months of work, the Honda team had increased the NSX’s rigidity by 50 percent. Senna later helped dial-in the suspension settings that gave the NSX its groundbreaking handling finesse.”
http://www.motortrend.com/news/the-asphalt-jungle-ayrton-senna/
This morning I received an email from some one claiming to be involved with the Senna Foundation asserting that Senna had nothing at all to do with the NSX. Was this an informed opinion? I have no idea. Below I have listed what the usual sources in the automotive press had to say at the time. These are people who ought to have been in a position to know, but car magazines are car magazines, and are hardly journals of record. I personally have no opinion, other than what I have written here. Below you will find the opinions of others.
Here is a video of Senna driving what is probably a pre-production version of the NSX in 1989 on the Suzuka Circuit. It is interesting to see the car in the hand of a master. Senna is wearing white socks, so it is relatively easy to see his foot work, shown in an inset panel in the video, and that is fun. To my eyes he seems to be nursing the car around some of the corners, after an assertive entrance to the turn. 2:58 and the following 10 seconds are typical, where he seems to be exploring the limits of the car in a high-G turn, perhaps intentionally taking the suspension a little beyond its limits, and hanging out at the edge.
Hondas Design was unbelievable in the 80’90’s and for ever car class leader.
HONDA is the Manufacturer for me. Wether its a NSX or a Civic there is a sweet engine version thats reliable as it is fast.Older Hondas in the UK are still undervalued due to high road taxation. Investment Hondas exist. The NSX is definitely on everyone’s list to drive in a hurry. Every model had something different, it could be gear levers in the Dash to make more storage in the floor this made the TypeR civics even more Arcadish and Arkaietic. Sometimes bringing safety via 4 wheel steer systems that also dropped lap times. VTEC cars had their own buzz going on. HONDA do everything for anywhere brilliantly
mentality.
Brilliant Video I’d Slot me nan for a NSX any bidders?
Yes. It is really through this video and this discussion that I am coming to understand what an audacious and successful effort the NSX was. To go up against Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche, and to produce a car that in certain regards was actually better in the eyes of men like Gordon Murray, is quite an amazing achievement.
