We got word there was a low mileage 1991 Acura NSX locally that the original owner was finally ready to part with, and we jumped in a car that day to go see it. The deal was made and we trailered our find back to our shop in Salt Lake City. For most of us at LUXE Automotive, the NSX is an icon we would all love to have sitting in our own garage.
- Year
- 1991
- Colour
- Formula Red over Ivory leather
- Miles
- 38,000 original
- Owners
- One
- Engine
- 3.0L V6 with VTEC
- Gearbox
- Five speed manual
- Power when new
- 270 hp
- 0 to 60
- 5.2 seconds
Why the NSX still matters
Known at home as the Honda NSX, the car was sold in North America as an Acura. NSX stands for New Sportscar eXperimental. Honda wanted to offer reliability at a lower price while meeting or beating the performance of the V8 Ferraris of the day.
The NSX was designed by a team led by Chief Designer Masahito Nakano and Executive Chief Engineer Shigeru Uehara: a two seat, mid engine, rear wheel drive coupe. Its styling took inspiration from the cockpit of an F-16 fighter jet, and Formula One world champion Ayrton Senna gave input in the final stages of development, testing prototypes at Honda's Suzuka Circuit.
Gordon Murray, the designer of the McLaren F1, has said he used the NSX as inspiration for the F1 and called its design monumental to sports car design. He was fond enough of the car to buy one and drive it for 75,000 km.
Under the skin it was a first. The NSX was the first production car built around an all aluminium monocoque, and aluminium in the body alone saved nearly 200 kg over steel. The engine is an all aluminium 3.0 liter V6 with VTEC (Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control), good for 270 horsepower when new, through a five speed manual.
It is a fast car, but it was never about records. Track numbers say nothing about usable performance, and this machine is so honest and predictable in its responses that most of its track performance is also useful performance.
A car with its own factory
Honda built a special factory for the NSX. The car was assembled at the purpose built Takanezawa plant in Tochigi from 1989 until early 2004, when production moved to Suzuka. Over its fifteen year run Honda sold a little more than 18,000 NSXs worldwide.
Ours is an early car, so it still wears the pop up headlamps that Honda replaced with fixed xenon units in the December 2001 facelift. A one owner early NSX with low miles does not come along often, which is why we went to see it the same day.
What it needed
The car came to Utah from California with its original owner in 2019. With only 38,000 original miles on the odometer, the Acura needed a little love once we got hold of it. It went to Jerry Lambert Automotive for all of the mechanical service:
- Timing belt and water pump
- Valve cover gaskets and oil pan gasket
- Window regulator
- Fuel filter
- Brake fluid flush
- Tires
Low miles can hide age. A car that sits for years still dries out its gaskets and rubber, which is why most of that list comes down to time.
The paint and the leather
In our shop, the Formula Red paint was cleaned up with a paint correction, and we repainted the front bumper, which had cracked from sitting. The Ivory leather on the interior cleaned up beautifully.
How it drives
After the maintenance was finished, it drove and ran smoothly. The NSX is a top choice for pure driving pleasure. Power is not the centerpiece of this car. This car is about motion, about translating driver talent directly into g forces.
It is a fighter jet for the road.
If you have an older car that has been sitting, start with the mechanical work and finish with the paint. Correcting original paint is a judgment call about how much clear coat is left, and it is a conversation we are always happy to have.
