The Honda NSX – A Nineties Icon

The original ‘new-for-1990’ Honda NSX isn’t just a global motoring icon; it’s arguably the most important car of the early 1990s. This revolutionary model was essentially a collection of unusual concepts that came together in a unique crescendo which forced the rest of the motoring world to sit up and take notice. The consequences for other manufacturers were felt far and wide for decades to come. 

The first generation NSX is also very much a tale of firsts. Not only was the ‘New Sportscar eXperimental’ Honda’s first (and last with the withdrawal of the second generation NSX in 2022) foray into the supercar market, but the NSX was the first production supercar from any manufacturer in Japan. In fact, prior to the NSX hitting showrooms, the flagship model in the Honda range was the Prelude. So, even though the ‘NS-X’ concept was born very much in the eighties, the first car to introduce the – now legendary – Type R badge came as quite a surprise to the motoring world when it hit the streets at the beginning of 1990. Not to mention something of a strange upgrade to the Honda lineup of the day.

It was almost as if a spaceship had landed when it was introduced at the Chicago Auto Show. A spaceship with the best of everything cutting-edge design and high-tech materials had to offer, and even its own purpose-built factory in Tochigi, Japan. It came as no surprise that every NSX took over 40-hours to put together, more than three times as long as any other Honda in history.   

This iconic silhouette – with elements famously inspired by the F-16 fighter jet – is even credited with inspiring such ‘hypercar’ royalty as the 1992 McLaren F1. Styled by famed car designer, Ken Okuyama (who went on to pen a whole host of Ferraris, including the Enzo) the cab-forward, long tail design is as pleasing to the eye as it is aerodynamic and stable at high speeds. 

But all the science-derived aesthetics aside, the most important thing about the NSX is that it was the first car to give any Japanese manufacturer bona fide kudos from the more discerning, connoisseurs of high-end cars. Even if it took a good few years post launch for the wider world of car fans to see past the badge on the bonnet. Simply being a Honda was initially something of a hinderance in a market where more exotic supercars from the usual – namely the Italian – suspects were most revered.

But with a much lower price point (around half that of a Ferrari 358 at the time) and a chassis that exceeded the performance and handling capabilities of anything Europe had to offer. History, and perhaps a little hindsight, has born a different story.

There’s no doubt the NSX has become one of the most iconic cars to be associated with the Japanese domestic market (JDM), too. And this may be largely due to the legendary Type R variant being exclusively available in Japan. But the truth is the NSX was a global superstar and never strictly a JDM-only model. They may have sold under 500 examples here in the UK between 1990 and 2002 – the curse of the Honda badge some may say – but they were freely available to anyone with the foresight to see what this mid-engine, rear-drive monster would mean to car fans and supercar collectors in the not-too-distant future.   

It’s also important not to underestimate the significance of the NSX being available under the Acura brand (as the Acura NSX) in the US and Hong Kong. With Acura being Honda’s luxury and performance division, this arguably gave the car instant kudos in the west. Even Hollywood was an early adopter and contributor to the presence of the NSX in the 1990s, with many examples appearing in American movies and TV shows.

Perhaps most notably was the silver NSX driven by Winston Wolf in the 1994 cult classic, Pulp Fiction. A car that was capable of making a half hour trip in under 10 minutes… well, according to the script, anyway. All the endorsements on the big screen certainly built quite the reputation for the NSX throughout the nineties. The fact the NSX been featured in every Gran Turismo video game since the original in 1997, has gone a long way to bolster that reputation ever since. And that’s not just with the ‘PlayStation Generation’ – those of us who spent some of our most formative years in the nineties. 

Speaking of Hollywood, the NSX also appeared in one or two of the Fast and Furious movies. Although by 2011 and the premier of Fast Five, the iconic status, not to mention the price-tag, of your average NSX was already right up with those motoring rarities steeped in myth and legend. As difficult as it is to believe nowadays, the NSX was limited to mere cameos in the later instalments of the franchise simply because the likes of the R34 Skyline and MK IV Toyota Supra were far cheaper and far more relatable. The same reason these cars proved much more popular with the California street racers at the heart of the original story.

For the NSX it’s a price trend that continues to this day. While you could have picked up a brand-new base model for around 45k, today they’re a rare find, even on the collector’s market. You can easily expect to pay two or three times the original sale price, if you’re lucky. And that’s if you can find anyone willing to give up all the kudos that comes with owning perhaps the most sought-after Japanese car to ever hit the streets.

In terms of unworldly performance straight out of the box, Mr Tarantino wasn’t far wrong in his (albeit exaggerated) estimation. With a mid-mounted, all-aluminium 270bhp, 3.0 V6 engine (later a 3.2 with 290bhp) sporting Honda’s famous VTEC variable valve and lift timing – the first production car engine with such nerdy delights as titanium con rods, forged pistons and a redline of 83,000rpm – the NSX was faster than the Ferrari V8s of the day. But that was the whole point. The big Honda was specifically developed to take them on directly, offering even better performance and handling from a smaller engine coupled with a lightweight chassis. The first production car to feature an aluminium monocoque and all-aluminium body, these measures helped to save around 200kg over the use of steel, and that’s in the body panels alone. 

The lightweight construction wasn’t the only reason the NSX offered almost unbelievable handling. The chassis and suspension development was exhaustive and extensive. Among many others Formula 1 icon Ayrton Senna helped to develop the impeccably tuned chassis and handling package on Japan’s notorious Suzuka circuit. Incidentally the NSX has been used as the chief safety car there ever since. It’s no secret the results were nothing short of world-beating. The super-stiff, super-lightweight chassis ensures the NSX is still regarded as one of the best handling cars of all time. Even by modern standards. 

Most important of all though, the NSX was designed to be the first truly reliable supercar. Something almost unheard of in the nineties. Of course, thirty years or so on, we have many supercars that can legitimately boast the ability to be used as a daily driver – the Audi R8, McLaren GT and Aston Martin Vantage to name but a few. But the notion of driving a V8 Ferrari or any other supercar in the nineties without comprehensive breakdown and recovery cover was novel to say the least. 

What made the NSX, the first ‘everyday supercar’, special was just that. It was as easy to drive as any other Honda, as reliable as any other Honda and just at home on the track as on the daily commute. In other words, the NSX forced the European manufacturers to change their approach in terms of not just performance but reliability, too. For that reason alone, the NSX will go down in history as the humble Honda-badged supercar that singlehandedly changed the game.