Driver's Notebook: One for the Road
10/01/2005
With fewer than 75 sales projected for North America and only 150 worldwide, Acura’s NSX is one of the most exclusive sports cars available for 2005. This year is the last for the NSX, Japan’s first ultra-exotic and still one of the world’s most interesting sport cars. Introduced in 1989 and put into production by 1991, the NSX was a technological tour de force—years ahead of any competition—with the first all-aluminum unit-body, chassis subframes, and suspension of any production car.; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
(Click image to enlarge.) Fifteen years and more than 18,000 units later worldwide, the NSX still retains the qualities that made it such a gratifying car to drive, back in the day when Porsches still looked like Porsches and the most exotic thing from Japan was a Toyota Supra. Of course, today’s best Asian sports cars, like the overachieving Nissan 350Z, remind us how far Japanese manufacturers have come in the intervening years. But the NSX still has its chops, and as for looks, while some observers might call it dated, “classic” is the more appropriate word. This car is still a head-turner, even in jaded auto jungles like the freeways of Los Angeles. Colors like our Rio Yellow Pearl paint job didn’t do anything to diminish the attention paid to the NSX.
Assembled by a team of special technicians at a dedicated facility in
Tochigi, Japan, the NSX is a quality piece, and it remains a benchmark in the
fit-and-finish department. Other handbuilt cars should emulate the precision of
the Acura’s manufacture, and it is possible to imagine this car being as tight
and together with 200,000 miles on the clock as ours was with 5,000. This
observation underscores the NSX’s raison d’être: It offers its owner the
possibility of enjoying a perfectly delightful, neurosis-free driving experience
on a daily basis.
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(Click image to enlarge.) Settling into the cockpit also reminds us how much cars have advanced in the past decade. Free of electronic gizmos and multifunction screens, the NSX interior is on the one hand dated but also refreshing in its absence of stuff that neither abets comfort nor improves the driving experience. An Acura/Bose sound system with remote CD changer and a chilling climate control system provide all the necessary amenities. The driving position, sport seats, and view from behind the grand windscreen are as good as it gets. Rearward vision is merely adequate, but not fear-inspiring as on some cars that require back-up cameras or open doors to navigate a parallel parking space.
The driving experience is eminently rewarding, and the fact that the NSX weighs only 3,153 pounds makes it a lightweight among today’s performance cars. Its cab-forward design emulates a supercar’s, and the responsive steering— light and precise—offers sufficient feedback without being intrusive. Some understeer has been engineered into the independent double-wishbone suspension, and the NSX is not prone to tail-out antics as its mid-engine layout and long posterior might suggest. Superb brakes—with ABS—and a traction control system (TCS) ensure greater control under adverse conditions. Stylish forged aluminum wheels carry 215/40 R17-inch front and 255/40 R17 rear tires.
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Although the NSX is long and low, the interior is comfortable and spacious. Visibility is exemplary. (Click image to enlarge.)
A removable roof panel, which stows under the rear backlight, makes open-air motoring a simple affair, and overall, the car is squeak and rattle free. But the lack of a solid roof is betrayed by mild cowl shake and vibration transmitted through the steering wheel on bumpy surfaces. Unfortunately, a fixed-roof variant is no longer available. But despite the car’s architecture and strictly two-person capacity, the rear trunk compartment is fairly commodious and practical for weekend jaunts, golf clubs or skis notwithstanding.
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The view from the rear still excites after all these years. Taillights and
valance, revised in 2002, add a bit of aggression to the classic
shape. (Click image to enlarge.) Two versions of an all-aluminum dohc V-6 engine power the NSX: The 6-speed transmission uses a 3.2-liter, 290 hp powerplant, and the automatic comes with a 3.0-liter, 252 hp mill. Which brings us to the fact that the NSX is, in the modern scheme of things, underpowered. And with only 224 ft lbs of torque on tap in manual mode, most NSX drivers will be stirring the silky manual gearbox and enjoying the 8,000 rpm redline much of the time. One reward for such activity is the absolutely scintillating exhaust note—not quite in Tubi territory but definitely on a higher aural plane. Overall, the lack of absolute power should not be a deal-breaker for intelligent drivers who judge a car on merits beyond mere horsepower and cubic inches. While not inexpensive (at $89,000), the NSX offers solid value given its limited build numbers, esoteric materials, top-quality construction, and bulletproof reliability.
With the 2006 model year looms the specter of ever more stringent emissions and equipment regulations from our “friends” at the EPA, as well as from European and Asian agencies. The extensive retooling necessary for the current NSX to meet those requirements dictates that a new flagship be brought to market, and Acura anticipates that the NSX replacement—probably a V-10—will appear in three to four years. Chances are it will be as forward thinking as its predecessor. Meanwhile, drivers who seek exclusivity and absolute refinement may find that the last round of the NSX is also the best.
Acura, 800.862.2872, www.acura.com