Honda NSX
Its hard to believe that Hondas NSX supercar is still with us. Not many hi-tech showcases stand the test of time but this one has been going since 1990. And just when you thought it might finally retire gracefully, here we are with an attractively priced new version.
All right, so its not really new: the recipe has just been tweaked a bit for the demands of a new millennium, thats all. That means minor visual revisions inside and out and some slight (but surprisingly effective) changes in the engine and handling departments. But loyal enthusiasts neednt worry: its still the only supercar you could give your mother to drive, yet a machine that stays true to the formula that the late, great Ayrton Senna personally helped to perfect. Ayrton had two NSXs, one in Britain and one in his native Brazil. In fact, the British importers could have done with a few more like him, for UK sales have been pitiful, currently running at around a dozen a year. This is one reason why were unlikely to see the lighter and even faster Type-R version officially imported here.
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7s.
"This is one of the most exciting automobiles ever made..."
Bigger 17-inch BBS alloy wheels, tweaked spring and damper rates and various small aerodynamic improvements mean that steering response should be vastly improved: a slightly woolly steering feel was one of the few criticisms you could level at the original model, so this is a welcome step forward. Traction is quite simply astounding, allowing you to always place the car exactly where you want to put it. Whatever nervousness there was on the limit before is now gone, but theres still enormous satisfaction to be gained from track driving or B-road point-and-squirt motoring. Yet this car still cruises quietly for hours on the motorway.
You can see why Honda felt changes were so unnecessary. The first thing youre likely to notice about the latest model is its lack of those trademark pop-up headlamps, gone the way of all flesh thanks to crash regulations. Theyve been replaced by more aerodynamic faired-in units with clever projector-style discharge lamps and these have helped to reduce an already slippery drag factor from 0.32 to 0.
30Cd. The front and rear bumpers are also new, as are the rear light clusters. Inside, the cabin is much the same, though provision for a sat nav system has now been built into the dash. The most notable feature is the adoption of a titanium gearknob replicating the one used on Ayrton Sennas last Mclaren-Honda F1 car: the great man would have appreciated the revised gear ratios of the 6-speed box too, more tightly spaced to encourage maximum acceleration. And the improved carbonfibre Recaro seats would also no doubt have received a nod of approval. Apart from fresh door trim, new colour combinations and minor changes to some of the switchgear, thats about it. As before, the NSX's cabin is designed to perfectly accommodate two people - but don't expect space for much else. All right, so you could just about fit a weekend's luggage for two in the boot - but you'd have to be selective with your packing. On the move, the 3.2-litre V6 VTEC engine still makes a glorious sound, especially when the variable valve timing cuts in halfway up the rev range: and youll have to rev it hard to get the best out of it. All Honda VTEC units tend to be like that and this one doesnt develop its peak torque figure of 224lb until you get to 5,300rpm. As before, the NSX is available in both hardtop and NSX-T targa roofed versions, the NSX-Ts one-piece hardtop made of aluminium in the quest for weight reduction. This of course, makes it easier to remove and manoeuvre single-handedly.
Once it's off, you can store the thing under the glass panel of the rear window. Of course, the drawback to most open-topped sportscars is that removing the roof tends to upset the torsional rigidity of the bodyshell, thus upsetting the balance of the car. Honda claims this not to be the case with the NSX-T. Of course, you'll want to check that for yourself - an exciting prospect. This is after all, one of the most exciting automobiles ever made. On paper, as on the road, it can match the best that Ferrari has to offer. The difference with this Japanese pretender lies in its astonishing driveability.
While British, German and Italian rivals require a special effort to operate, the NSX is in most instances as undemanding as a Honda Civic. Some would of course call that the car's greatest undoing. Which is to ignore the more logical point of view that a docile and undemanding vehicle is a blessing at the end of a hard day devoted to the kind of activity that allows the purchase of an expensive car in the first place. Other supercar makers would presume their machines to have more character, a term often used to describe vices that pass for virtues. In contrast, the NSX remains in many respects quite simply a better real-world product.
Not only is it still one of the greatest sportscars ever to turn a wheel, it's also a rocket-fast monument to Honda's understanding of what it takes to succeed. Love is blind. Peace is fragile. Happiness is relative.
And the NSX range starts at nearly sixty grand.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Honda NSX
PRICE: £60,300-£66,300 on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 20
CO2 EMISSIONS: 287-291g/km
PERFORMANCE: Max Speed 168mph / 0-60mph 5.7s
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (urban) 15.8mpg / (extra urban) 31.0mpg / (combined) 22.8mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin airbags, ABS WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE ?: Length/Width/Heightmm 4430/1810/1160
