02 Oct Collection In Action: Honda NSX Targa

Something of a sleeper in the evolution of the supercar, Honda got the concept right first time with the NSX, yet its attributes were largely overlooked. Mike Monk describes an impressive machine that was perhaps too good for its own good…       

Thirty-three years ago, Honda – at the time cementing its reputation for engineering integrity powering both Williams and McLaren to Formula 1 manufacturers’ championship titles – took a shot at the supercar world with a vehicle called an NSX, the acronym for ‘New Sportscar eXperimental’, with the Ferrari 328GTB firmly in the cross hairs. The project had begun in 1984 with the 2,0-litre V6 HP-X (Honda Pininfarina eXperimental) concept car, which was developed to challenge the V8 Ferraris of the time. Created by a team led by chief designer Masahito Nakano and executive chief engineer Shigeru Uehara, the NSX benefitted from advanced aerodynamics and styling partly inspired by an F-16 fighter jet cockpit and, in the closing stages of development, by input from the late F1 World Champion Ayrton Senna, who was then contracted to McLaren-Honda.

Launched at the 1989 Chicago Auto Show, the NSX went on sale the following year and was the world’s first mass-produced car to feature all-aluminium bodywork, said to have saved around 135 kg over a steel equivalent. Powering the NSX was an all-aluminium 3,0-litre V6 engine mounted transversely amidships. It featured Honda’s then still new but now famous VTEC (Variable valve Timing and lift Electronic Control) system, and with a compression ratio of 10,2:1, the fuel-injected  2977cc quad-cam, 24-valve motor pumped out 205 kW (191 kW for the auto) at 7 300 r/min and 285 N.m of torque at 6 500 – the rev limit was 8 000. Transmission options were a five-speed manual and a four-speed SportsShift auto, which were attached to the end of the engine as opposed to being underneath, taking drive to the rear wheels.

The mainly aluminium suspension featured double wishbones, coils springs and an anti-roll bar both front and rear. All-round disc brakes boasted four-channel ABS, the industry application of which was then still in its infancy. Rack-and-pinion steering operated on cast alloy road wheels, 15-inch with 205/50 tyres up front and 16-inch with 225/50s at the back. Manual NSX’s did not have power steering, whereas autos had electric power assistance, which was another of the car’s technology advances.

Wind tunnel testing helped develop the car’s overall shape that featured a faired-in full-width wing across the tail. Apart from necessary engine air intakes in the rear flanks, the NSX’s shape is fuss free and smooth, which may have worked against it though, because while being airy, spacious (it even boasts a useable boot), solidly built and easy to drive – collective rarities in 1980s supercar attributes – it lacked the visual drama and, at the time, the cachet of a Ferrari. That it performed, rode and handled as well as, if not better, than the (now 348) GTB. the NSX did not have the marketing impact it should have. This was Honda’s first supercar, remember…

And even Ferrari could not boast road car design input from an F1 champion as Honda could with Senna. In February 1989, a McLaren test session coincided with an NSX test and, after driving the car, the Brazilian master suggested that the car flexed too much, so Honda’s engineers went away dialled-in 50% more torsional rigidity in a remarkably short time. In the run-up to production, Senna continued to help develop improvements to the car’s dynamics.

Once on sale, the NSX received critical acclaim from all who drove it. Honda had pioneered the affordable, user-friendly supercar – ‘as easy to drive as a Civic’ – to the extent that renowned South African engineer Gordon Murray was said to have benchmarked the NSX when he was designing the McLaren F1 road car, while Ferrari quickly set about replacing the 348 with the F355. Today, the NSX still looks good and FMM’s metallic purple Targa-topped auto example is quite stunning. With less than 20 000 km on the odo, it is as fresh as the day it was built. Incidentally, it is said that each car was assembled by a hand-picked team of 200 people, each with a minimum of 10 years experience, and that the paint process alone had 23 steps.

Stepping down into the cockpit, it oozes solid build quality. The seats offer plenty of legroom, even for my 1,86-metre frame, and the ample, F-16-influenced glasshouse offers an all-round vista. Two control-laden arms protruding from the steering column seem a little at odds with the rest of the cabin layout, which is clearly labelled and easy to operate. Complementing the S mode on the floor console’s gearshift, manual override of the SportsShift transmission is via a single small lever mounted just behind the steering wheel on the left (paddle shifters had yet to become the vogue). Irrespective of selection mode, gear changes are effected by a typical 1980s/’90s torque converter smoothness rather than razor-sharp engagement. But the NSX is more than anything a Grand Tourer, so the lack of race car-like immediacy is hardly a criticism.

Typical of VTEC engines, the V6 thrives on revs and the NSX’s motor is no exception. The resultant rasp from the twin exhausts is muted by supercar standards – it certainly does not invade the cabin – until the tacho needle attacks the red line, heralding a bark that does, finally, exude menace. Despite the extensive use of aluminium, the NSX is no lightweight, tipping the scales at around 1 370 kg. Performance-wise, the NSX was credited with numerous 0-100 km/h times, with 6,0 seconds being a realistic average, which it delivers with admirable ease. Top speed was given as 270 km/h. Combined with a firm but not harsh ride, benign handling and solid, communicative steering, the NSX set a benchmark in user-friendly superformance that did not cost a fortune to experience.

Initially available as a coupé, a lighter (by around 120 kg) Type-R with a blue-printed engine was made available in 1992, the targa-top version was introduced in 1995, and in 1997 the manual version’s powertrain became a 3,2-litre V6 coupled with a six-speed gearbox. A facelift took place in 2002 but the model was discontinued in 2005. In America, the car was named the Acura NSX and marketed as the halo model for Honda’s fledgling Stateside brand.

Yet for all its engineering excellence, total NSX sales were reported to be less than 20 000. This has to be one of performance motoring’s best kept secrets, a car that set a few trends three decades ago yet is not out of place today

FMM’s 1996 Honda NSX Targa is currently on view in Hall D.