NSX Defeats Porsche 911 in Showdown

from Primeline, Vol. 5, No. 8, August 1994
Reprinted without permission
Supplied by Frank Leta Acura

It was Motor Trend's idea of an old west showdown -- in this case the old Porsche 911 in its 1995 trim against the newer, higher-technology Acura NSX in the magazine's "Battle of the Super- Sixes" in the August issue.

First the numbers. then the opinions:

                     NSX       9 11
0-30 mph             2.1        1.9
0 40 mph             2.9        2.9
0-50 mph             3.9        4.1
0-60 mph             5.3        5.3
0-70 mph             6.6        6.9
0.80 mph             8.3        8.8
0-90 mph            10.5       10.7
0-100 mph           12.6       13.5
1/4.mile,sec@mph  [email protected] [email protected]
Handling, lateral
 acceleration (g)   0.95       0.92
Speed through
 600-ft. slalom     70.6       66.3

In his review of NSX performance, Jeff Karr's comments included these observations:

"Nothing else quite equals this automobile's balanced overall performance...remains strongly in the running for the title of "The Best."

"The car is brilliantly designed. By minimizing its mass with extensive use of aluminum and even titanium, the NSX is able to equal or out-perform many other more powerful cars in a straight line, and then humiliate them in the turns."

"You don't have to comb a spec sheet to appreciate the NSX...all you have to do is drive it. This is one exotic with Legend-like livability."

"Motor Trend proclaimed the NSX the World's Best Handling Car back in the May '91 issue, and we're not about to back down from that declaration. The Acura's unboosted steering...is full of feel and marvelously accurate. On the road, the NSX is balanced, predictable and extremely agile. The NSX reveals that swift cornering is only a product of fine engineering and driver talent -- not a voodoo ritual."

"Five years after my first drive in a prototype NSX in Japan, I'm still emotionally involved with the car. This thing is a fabulous piece of engineering, but more important, it's just plain wonderful to drive."


Showdown / David W. Hwang