I have driven lots of fast cars......but the most like ours I have to say is a NSX.....A wonderful car that has been under powered for a long time. This is changing though. I have always been tempted to buy one and slap a comptech supercharger on it. But alas.......I just cant get past the fact that its just a honda in disguise.....god damm brain.

 

I always thought it needed more heart and soul...

 

I'm pretty sure Rage2 had one, maybe he'll pipe in and give his two cents on it. What I remember him saying is too much $ for what little HP increases you could get out of it. Easy on the eyes though.

 

I have a tape of the Car and Driver show where they were testing them. The people on there said that they were really nice. And yes, they are easy on the eyes. Nice cars.

 

but like the typical japanese car, they have no road feel. you're just floating along in your little plastic box. i'd rather drive a rabbit or a 914...

when the nsx's were brand new, a guy driving one thought he was so cool that he parked in the fire lane at the local mall. the tow truck driver didn't think he was that cool...

 

They are nice cars, but I have yet to figure out how Car & Driver considers it inexpensive at $90,000... what a joke.

I remember a few years ago my friend was buying a used Acura and while we were waiting in the lobby I was looking over an NSX. A salesman approached me and asked me if I was interested in the car, I looked at him and said it's way overpriced, he disagreed. I then pointed out that I could buy a 993 and have enough spare change left over to buy a Ducati 916, I also pointed out that the 993 would easily out perform the NSX in every aspect and maybe even get me more girls (I said that last part as a joke, though it may be true).

I then turned it around and informed him that alternatively I could buy a C5 which is a little worse and a little better than the NSX, but I'd have $40,000 in the bank to make me forget about the worse parts. He walked away without saying a word. I wasn't trying to be rude, I was just seriously pointing out my preferences.

Abdul

 

I just spent my first weekend in an NSX as an instructor at a DE. I thought that the engine pulled pretty strong, and the car stuck pretty well to the road. I was in an early 90's car one day and a brand new 02 model on the second day. I only rode as passenger so I could not make a direct comparison to the 951. I was relativly impressed by the cars, but I would rather have a Porsche any day. To each their own I suppose.

2002 model with 1150 miles at the track.

 

Doesn't look like that NSX would pass the broomstick test the PCA has for track and DE events....

 

[quote]Originally posted by abduln:
<strong>They are nice cars, but I have yet to figure out how Car & Driver considers it inexpensive at $90,000... what a joke.

Abdul</strong><hr></blockquote>

They said that it was inexpensive because it would beat the ferrari in its class. I can make the less than half price comparison. Sounds like inexpensive to me!

 

[quote]Originally posted by Gundo:
<strong>Doesn't look like that NSX would pass the broomstick test the PCA has for track and DE events....</strong><hr></blockquote>


Your right, it would not. I hunkered down under the targa bar, but I would not instruct in one again. The fixed hard top was a bit better but still close for comfort. I had no problems in my 996 coupe or a 944/951, and that is at 6'4".

 

I'm breaking my own rule about OT posts, but what the hell -

I instructed in an NSX (a beautiful, pristine red one) a couple of months ago at Lime Rock. It was a non-marque DE event, but the NSX club used it for a regional get-together. I didn't count, but there were probably 10 or 12 NSX's there.

I drove the NSX the first few laps, slowly, to demonstrate the line, etc. My initial impressions were that the car was smooth and balanced, but the controls felt heavy, and car overall felt heavy.

The owner, a first-timer, turned out to be an excellent student, very smooth, and the speeds picked up really nicely as the day went on. The faster we went, the better and lighter the car felt (from the passenger seat). Really sweet engine, very high revving, balanced precise handling, quite forgiving, very good brakes. The car was much happier at speed than when being driven slowly. I came away impressed.

Matt

 

hell of a car, RELIABLE EXOTIC
try saying those words together with any other car

i plan on having one when I graduate, the 951 stays of course!

 

A shame they had to graft those Mitsubishi 3000GT headlights to the nose to "modernize" the car. My friend has one, and it makes wickedly good induction noise...you can hear every pulse. But very quiet with small throttle openings.

Also, the cowl height is so low that it really gives the sensation of the road rushing up at you...more so than any production car I've been in.

Sounds like Honda is toying with making its successor a hybrid...300 bhp to the rear wheels via i/c engine, and another 100 to the fronts via electric motors. Weird, but intriguing!

 

Electric motors (actually the batteries) weigh almost as much, if not more, than an entire combustion engine does. If Honda has this planned perhaps they have engineered a lightweight battery system (which would change everything about electric motors in a sports car), or it is simply a test of design to see if it could be done. I would doubt they would want to add that much weight to an already somewhat heavy production car.

intriguing yes, but will it see production, my guess is no...

Paul

 

Yeah, you're right Paul...batteries are heavy. The size and weight of the pack depends on how often and how much they're called upon. The Civic hybrid and Insight do use relatively light battery packs that power the electric motor as sort of a "supercharger," primarily to aid in low-speed acceleration.

For being a virtually all-aluminum unit body, the NSX isn't all that light...about 3000 lb., IIRC. I bet you could match that with proper use of today's thinner, high-strength steels.