The NSX-R Is Honda’s Holy Grail

Like many classics from the golden age of Japanese bubble-era engineering, the early 1991-96 Acura NSX is no longer a bargain. There was a time when its rising sun dipped towards the horizon and deals could be had, but now it’s high noon in Acura-ville and a good (#3 condition) early nineties NSX will cost you about the same as it did new: $60,000, give or take. The good news is that it’s still one of the best-engineered cars to come out of Japan, still stunning to look at, and still much less painful to own in the maintenance department than more exotic mid-engined machines.

Also, when compared to what the rarer variants are fetching, maybe an early nineties NSX is still kind of a deal.

Just last month, a supercharged NSX-T set the record for USDM NSXs, scoring a top bid of $370,000 ($377,500 including buyer’s premium) online. In general, the fixed-headlight car (known to the Acura faithful as the NA2) fetch a premium over the earlier pop-up headlight (NA1) models, but the NSX-T is far from the Holy Grail of NSX variants. There are two others: the NSX Type-R built from the 1992-96 model years, and the NSX-R built from 2002-05. One of the latter is coming up for auction at this year’s Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este auction, and with estimates ranging from €750,000-950,000, we could be looking at the first NSX (and the first Honda) to hit the million-dollar mark.

What makes the NSX-R so special? First, we must travel to the Suzuka racetrack in February of 1989, where a bunch of Honda engineers are about to have a rather embarrassing day at work. With Brazilian F1 legend Ayrton Senna testing his Honda-powered McLaren MP4/5 at Suzuka, what better time to get the input of the then-newly-minted world champion driver on Honda’s moonshot mid-engined sportscar?

Senna’s opinion, unfortunately, was that the NSX wasn’t ready for primetime. “I’m not sure I can really give you appropriate advice on a mass-production car,” he said, “but I feel it’s a little fragile.” Uh-oh.

Honda pivoted quickly. Instead of a celebrity endorsement, Senna’s input would become a resource. The NSX was stiffened, re-tested by him at the Nürburgring, and tuned with his input. It’s part of what made the original car truly special.

Mention Ayrton Senna to any NSX fan, and they won’t necessarily think about his pre-production touches on the car, but about another moment at Suzuka. White socks. Leather loafers. And a white NSX Type-R on the limit.

Basically the JDM version of the Ruf Yellowbird Nürburgring lap, the video of Senna pedalling the NSX around Suzuka at maximum attack is one of the all-time greats. The icing on the cake is a camera pointed right at the pedal box, showing him heel-toeing, blipping the throttle on corner exit, and finessing the car through the corners. You practically want to cheer when you see it.

Compared to the standard NSX, the first NSX Type-R removed nearly all street-car compromises. Roughly similar to Porsche’s Clubsport package for the 911 GT3, the Type-R saw Honda’s engineers deleting the air-conditioning, stereo, spare tire, and sound deadening. They also did away with the traction control and added lighter Enkei wheels. Carbon-Kevlar, fixed-back Recaro seats helped shed further pounds versus the standard leather chairs, for a total weight savings of 265 pounds. Considering the standard NSX weighs barely more than 3000, it was an impressive diet. Honda even swapped out the leather-wrapped shift knob for a bare titanium one.

The suspension was also comprehensively overhauled with firmer springs, anti-roll bars, and bushings. The 3.0-liter V-6 didn’t really make any more power than standard, but was fitted with a blueprinted and balanced rotating assembly. As is typical for the time with Japanese domestic market cars, the stated 280 hp at 7300 rpm figure is suspected to be slightly underrated.

Honda built 483 of these Type-Rs, all of them right-hand-drive and bound for the home market. But, thanks to Gran Turismo and Best Motoring, the overseas market was at least aware of their existence. Later, with the 2002 facelift to fixed headlights, Honda again starting producing an R-rated NSX, though this time just 140 would be made. The low-mileage example up for auction at Broad Arrow this month is, pleasingly, the signature Honda racing color Championship White.

The 2002-05 NSX-R benefited from the mainline NSX’s larger 3.2L V-6 and a six-speed manual gearbox. The engine was rated at similar-to-standard 290 hp, though it was assembled with a precision-balanced crankshaft, and is again thought to make more peak power than stated.

On the exterior, the second-gen R got a great deal more carbon-fiber aerodynamic trim, all of it functional. As a demonstration of the typical Honda do-more-with-less-power ethos, a Honda test driver managed to lap the Nürburgring in seven minutes, 56 seconds. At the time, this was the equal of the Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale, which boasted 135 hp more than the Honda.

That a Honda NSX might one day fetch far more money than its direct Ferrari rival is more than a little mind-boggling. The previous record for an NSX Type-R, set two years ago at the Monterey auctions, is $632,000. It, too, was Championship White.

Whether or not you’re in the market for one of the rarest of the rare NSX variants ever made, the chance that the world’s going to see a seven-figure Honda proves that the marque has truly arrived. Maybe you’ve got a low-mileage NA1 in the garage, bright red like the launch car or Senna’s personal NSX. Perhaps you’ve finally been able to track down the yellow Integra Type-R you’ve wanted since your college days. Fast Hondas and Acuras are no longer the bargains they once, briefly, were. Now, everyone seems to have woken up to how special they truly are.