The Acura NSX Story

Seldom does a "best" competition begin without the scream of Honda's Formula 1 racing experience wrapped up in the NSX's jaw-dropping styling, nor does it end without glowing reviews and accolades of car's handling, acceleration, braking and appearance.

To stay on top for so long, the consensus would have to be either we've learned nothing over the past five years to advance automobile engineering past the benchmark set by the NSX, or the car is quite simply years ahead of its time.

Set your clock back to 1990. The auto world was turned upside down when word got around about a new up-and-comer in the world of sportscar exotics - not from Italy or Germany, but from Japan.

The TV ads were incredible. Four old Italian gents are passing the time sitting on a bench when a red silhouette streaks by. "Ferrari," one asks? A small boy answers, "No papa . . . Acura." The slogan was "Welcome to the New World."

And there it was. A bargain-based Ferrari fighter with bumper to bumper warranty, that got 30 miles per gallon, ran the quarter mile in 13.8 seconds, cornered with nearly one-G of lateral force and zipped to the tune of 260 km-h - all you had to do was drop the pedal and hang on. Slick enough for the most die-hard racing fanatic, yet docile enough to take grandma and her toy poodle out to the supermarket. Acura, the upscale division of Honda, had built a car that seemingly did it all. There was even room in the trunk for two sets of golf clubs.

Over the years, the NSX has done more for the image of Acura's other cars (as did the Viper for Chrysler's lineup) than any ad campaign - quality and performance by association.

The stat sheet was impressive: All-aluminum body, rear-mounted 270-horsepower 3.0-litre V6 with four camshafts, four valves per cylinder and huge brakes. And there were some unexpected features: air conditioning, power windows and seats, awesome Bose stereo, and hand-stitched leather interior. The NSX personified the term luxury sports car.

Firing up the NSX, which looked too good to actually run, brought about the same sound when you start a Honda Civic. Even more disconcerting was the lack of a performance exhaust note, or much of any exhaust note for that matter. I mean, the car in the commercial sounded like a Formula car running through the gears at the Belgian Grand Prix. I shrugged, wondering exactly why anyone should be expected to fork over $80,000 for this car. I soon found out.

First were the looks. When I say looks, I mean staring, gawking and neck-dislocating double-takes. During the photo shoot on that warm August afternoon, a small crowd had amassed around the NSX. Eyes bulged, tongues hung out and the general consensus was "awesome . . . totally awesome."

Those words seem almost prophetic in 1995, as I cruise in the 1996 model. There is the same look and feel that greeted me back in 1990. Then, as an NSX neophyte, I wasn't sure what to expect when I jammed my foot to the floor in first gear. The power came on smoothly until the tack struck 4,000 rpm, then "wwwwwhaaaaaaa." To say it felt like I was smacked in the behind with a 2x4 would be an overstatement, but the adrenaline rush was phenomenal as the engine, perched right behind me under the F-16-inspired canopy, waled and the tach darted for the 8,000 rpm redline. In what seemed like a few seconds, I was topped out in second gear with the speedometer reading 120 km-h. Absolutely mind-blowing. You couldn't have punched that stupid grin off my face.

Today, I have the NSX and the high mountain highway all to myself. Squeezing the gas brings about same girgle from the loafing engine. Today's NSX has all the same lines, but has fatter, lower-profile tires, bigger, wider rims and more color choices. This gorgeous test vehicle is midnight purple - black from most angles but very purple in bright light. There is one thing obviously missing though - the roof. I'm driving the NSX-T - "T" as in targa. Push in two buttons and pull two levers and the centre section of the roof pops off. The fixed-roof version is no longer available in Canada. I didn't initially like this feature as I thought it would take away from the true no-nonsense premise upon which the NSX was conceived. But as the wind makes a bird's nest out of my hair, the goofy grin returns to my face and I realize the roof is not a frill - it only puts me closer to the road, the noise heightening the sensation of driving the NSX. It's 1990 all over again.

The lack of a roof has actually made the car about 50 kilograms heavier. To maintain structural rigidity (the roof forms an integral part of the structure), plenty of chassis-stiffening was done. The door sills, for example, are three times as thick as the non-targa version. Still, the car is close to its original weight of 1,365 kilograms. The car is still lighter than most other exotics and is the reason why 270 horsepower feels like a whole bunch more. To keep the weight down, the body and chassis are made mostly of aluminum.

The pronounced growl from the rear-mounted engine is as inspiring as ever, perhaps even more than 1990. This could be attributed to the new Bazooka stainless steel exhaust tips that replace the oval chrome tips. The NSX's engine is still at the technological forefront. Taking a purist's approach to performance, engineers decided to stay away from forced induction in the form of turbochargers and superchargers, instead building a powerplant that could rev - 8,000 rpm to be exact.

To handle this unrealistic task, many internal components of the compact V6 are made from lightweight titanium and aluminum. The engine was also a pioneer in variable valvetrain technology - valve lift actually increases with rpm. So, NSX feels and sounds like any other car under light throttle and comes on like gangbusters when you punch the gas. To put it in perspective, if a 5.7-litre Z28 made the same horsepower per litre as the NSX, it would nudge the 500-horsepower mark.

Running to redline through the gears brings a soothing adrenaline rush. At highway speeds, the engine is coasting along at 3,000 rpm. The powerband is so wide, it is possible to downshift into second at 90 km-h to make an ultra-quick pass. Besides, it's fun.

An often overlooked quality of the NSX is the workmanship of the underpinnings. Suspension components, normally stamped from steel, are cast from aluminum. it is like no other car you've ever seen. Even if you can't see the suspension, a brisk drive will let you know the calibre of what's down there. NSX is an acrobatic performer than exhibits almost no signs of body roll under hard cornering. Helping to keep NSX planted is 45-series Z rated rubber riding on 16-inch wheels up front, and 40-series meats fitted to 17-inch wheels at the rear corners. Acura makes no excuses about the short lifespan of the soft-compound tires - they make the car stick like glue. Expect 20,000 kilometres maximum out of these tires.

Inside, the familiar stitched-leather interior still oozes luxury, although it's not as organic as some of the newer cars. The electrically-adjusted deep buckets are built for hours of painless sitting with huge side bolters to keep you planted during high-performance cornering.

The thick, leather-wrapped steering wheel houses something the 1991 version never had: an air bag. There's one in the passenger-side dash as well, but it invades the space of the glovebox leaving barely enough room for a wallet or the owner's manuals. The shortage of storage space is in stark contrast to the generous head and leg-room available, though.

And the NSX's timeless Ferrari-esque shape is still as intoxicating as ever. The swoopy lines were met with the same stares and thumbs-up as it received in 1990. Still, the NSX seems to lack some recognition. Perhaps because of its scarcity. When people asked what kind of car it was, and I replied Acura, most look puzzled. If they were puzzled by the name, the price seemed to clue them in to what the car was all about. "$110,000?" And $115,000 for the optional automatic transmission version. A new feature includes a switch that allows fully manual operation of the automatic. The last few years have brought about refinement to what seemed, in 1990, to be a car that couldn't be improved upon. The traction control systems has been improved for better control under hard braking, the car tracks straighter out of corners and there's more low-rpm power thanks to revised fuel injectors and intake system.

For 1996 there are many challengers to the NSX: RX-7, Corvette, and Porsche 911 are the main contenders. And some do more for less money. But with NSX you'll be be rewarded with a unique driving experience, be a hit every time you stop for gas, food or a bathroom break, and you'll get the exclusivity that few, if any, of the others can offer - and, of course, you'll get that goofy grin that only the NSX can generate.