1995 Honda NSX
- Rare Manual
- Targa Hardtop
Honda’s first supercar, the NSX set new standards for the class on its arrival in 1989, possessing the expected stupendous performance while remaining as civilised and easy to drive as the average family hatchback. Honda was already committed to Formula 1, supplying engines for the all-conquering McLarens of Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, and was able to call on the latter to assist in developing the NSX, which is the only road car ever to benefit from the great Brazilian driver’s expertise. The result was a car that wowed the motoring press when the scribes first got their hands on a pre-production prototype in the summer of 1989.
Despite being developed during F1’s turbo era, the NSX’s 24-valve 3.0-litre V6 engine was normally aspirated. Equipped with the new VTEC variable valve timing system, the all-alloy unit produced 270bhp initially, which was good enough for a top speed of 168mph and a 0-60mph time of less than six seconds. Those performance figures put the NSX on a par with Ferrari’s 348 GTB, but in terms of comfort, ergonomics, driving dynamics and build quality, the NSX was in a different league entirely.
Sadly, this superiority was not translated into sales, and by the time production ceased in 2005, fewer than 20,000 NSXs had been sold.
The Honda NSX Targa being offered here at Autostorico is a February 1995 example, which was supplied new by Bob Howard Acura of Edmond, Oklahoma, USA. Finished in Formula Red with Black leather interior, this extremely rare 5 speed manual example has covered an indicated 34,230 miles. Having spent its early years overseas the car was purchased by its current owner in 2013 and shipped to the UK.