Vehicle Description
With the new Acura NSX knocking on the $200,000 threshold,
collectors are catching on to the fact that Acura's early cars are
pretty darned spectacular. Of course, they were all bulletproof in
typical Honda fashion, so many of them were used hard and put away
wet. But this 1991 Acura NSX with just 62,352 original miles almost
looks like it just rolled off the showroom floor.
A lot of folks think of the NSX as a Japanese Ferrari, but I think
that does the NSX a grave disservice. If you look at it, it's
really like nothing else before or since, with a radical
cab-forward design that was expressly made to resemble a fighter
jet's canopy. The low nose and neatly integrated rear spoiler are
done with noteworthy ease and the whole thing doesn't seem to be
trying too hard to be racy. It just is. Of course, deep black paint
with that blacked-out cockpit pretty much eliminates any chance of
going unnoticed, but that's the price of stardom. That's factory
paint, by the way, and if you have any doubts about Honda's ability
to deliver a product worth more than $65,000 (in 1991 dollars), you
need only look at the ripple-free panels on this NSX. Thanks to
smart design, it isn't prone to scraping its chin on driveway
aprons, either, so all the nose pieces are nicely preserved and the
rockers haven't been sandblasted by road debris. Obviously, someone
cherished this car.
Despite the mid-engined layout, Honda managed to make the NSX as
comfortable and user-friendly as an Accord. No longer could an
exotic car claim that being cramped, hot, uncomfortable, and using
balky switch gear was a sign of character, and it wasn't too long
after this that the big names got serious about improving quality
and user-friendliness. The deeply bolstered black leather seats are
very nicely preserved with only very minor comfort marks and the
rest of the interior is equally nice, and as a Honda, everything
works as you'd expect. The A/C is effective, the aftermarket
AM/FM/CD stereo sounds great thanks to plenty of sound-dampening
materials and great aerodynamics, and everything was standard so
you don't have to worry about owning a stripped NSX. Heck, there's
even usable trunk space both up front and in back!
You know Honda was serious about the NSX when they filled the
3.0-liter V6 with titanium connecting rods and ultra-light aluminum
pistons. The result is an engine that loves to rev and shrieks to
its 7500 RPM redline like an F1 racer, and remember, this was 28
years ago! Keep it boiling and the engine was devastating on the
street and thanks to a slick-shifting 4-speed automatic
transmission, it's easy to just point and shoot your way through
traffic. And if you have worries about maintenance, don't sweat it,
because this low ownership beauty has signs of regular maintenance
throughout. Honda's legendary A-arm suspension delivers superlative
handling (as well as that low cowl) and it's fitted with four-wheel
disc brakes whose specifications might seem modest, but thanks to
an intensive weight-control program, are more than adequate for the
flyweight NSX. It's still wearing those flashy NSX-stock wheels and
215/45/16 front and 245/45/17 rear Bridgestone performance
radials.
Complete with maintenance receipts, owner's manuals, and even the
signatures of the project lead on the NSX (Shigeru Uehara) and an
accomplished NXS racer (Derek Bell) on the inside of the glovebox
door, this is the NSX you should buy for the joy of driving. But
when it also turns out to be a smart investment, well, so much the
better! Call today!