Specifications

It combines Ferrari panache with Japanese common sense. Bullseye! – Acura NSX

Honda, a brand that immediately takes you back to memory lane. The Jazz, Civic and Accord faithfully served the average grandparent. But, Honda wanted to get rid of their dusty image and together with Ayrton Senna, amongst others, created the NSX. For the US market, things were a little different; just as pizza comes from there according to the average American, Japan was also a somewhat sensitive subject. That is why Honda invented Acura. And say it yourself, it sounds a lot better too!

The inspiration for the ‘glass dome’ as a roof and the dashboard was copied from the F16. That already sounded very promising as a concept! Honda also understood that the average rice cooker was not big enough for a global market, where Burger and Brinta eaters also wanted to drive it as a domestic driver. They solved this by fitting 15″ at the front and 16″ at the rear. This together with air conditioning, ABS, power steering, electric windows, electric mirrors and leather upholstery made it a comfortable sports car. Something that they only understood in Europe a lot later, that not everyone drove with a kidney belt in daily traffic.

Something we are already familiar with today thanks to the F1 and the GT-R, is that besides the Germans, the Japanese also have absolutely no sense of humour when it comes to cars. They were even so strict during production, that you were only allowed to work at the Takanezawa factory if you had an immaculate track-record of at least 10 years at Honda. It went so far that the paint was applied in 23 steps and the first Acura batch (300 pieces) was stopped at the port of arrival by Mr. Honda and provided with nicer Acura logos.

End result? A V-tec V6 block with titanium pistons, 8,400 RPM and the V-tec (braa-BAEEEEP) from 4,800 rpm. 274 Ninja Pee cheese and a top speed of 270. Now you again, neighbour. Ours? Black on black, fully documented, low mileage, original paint and a manual transmission. Exactly as it should be.

See you soon?