The Engineer Car Review: Honda NSX

The legend of the original Honda NSX precedes it. An automotive icon built by a mainstream Japanese manufacturer to take on the European supercar elite. It was famous for its ruthless application of technology at a time when most supercar makers were still rooted in the dark ages. Suddenly you could buy a mid-engined rocket ship that wouldn’t steam up, break down or allow entire families to shelter in its panel gaps.

Honda had always been an innovative manufacturer. Its first car, the S500 of 1963, featured a tiny 531cc four-cylinder double overhead cam engine that revved to over 9,000rpm. By the 1980s it was a global player with a reputation for building clever, if somewhat bland, saloons. On the racetrack, meanwhile, Honda was at the height of its powers. Every single Formula 1 World Constructors’ title winner from 1986 to 1991 used a Honda engine. At the same time, a certain Ayrton Senna – who picked up all three of his world titles with Honda – was enlisted to help with the work on the new NSX.