A good write up by Gordon Murray

[BD]

I used the google translator, so it's not well translated, but understand-able.

He mentioned few important facts that were mostly tossed around as "Urban Legends." And he validated them.

1). The NSX suspension design was used as study subject for the McLaren F1 road car.
2). He ask Honda to supply the engine for the McLaren F1 and was turned down.
3). He believe the lack of HP figure was due to Japanese self imposed HP limit.
4). The aluminum chassis was what make the NSX a Elite car of them all (during that period).
5). Honda's VTEC has a great sound!!!

The last sentence, he basically said (written in Kanji) that the NSX is equivalent of Pyramid of Automotive engineering. Ferrari was "Sleeping" and wasn't awake till the NSX was introduced.

If I remember correctly, there was a road and track article similar to this one.


http://translate.google.com/transla...rdon/index.html&langpair=ja|en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

 

[KSXNSX]

Nice. A lot of ppl still respect the NSX. There is no question in my mind that it will go down as a classic.

Feel lucky to be a part of this car.

Does Murray still own an NSX?

 

[j.r]

He had a blue one? Dear God, the LBBP guys are going to go crazy over this.

 

[SuperCarnitas]

Does Murray still own an NSX?

The article said he owned the car for just less than 7 years. Went through 14 sets of tires because the compound was so soft, and in the end decided to use Michelins trading off grip for tread life. He closes the interview by saying "If I were to be looking for that type of a car again, I would not hesitate for a minute to choose an NSX."

Honda has a nice Uehara retirement tribute of which this interview is one section. There are others with Paul Frere (!), John Lamm, and Kouki Takahira. Paul Frere says he borrowed a Type R for a couple of weeks, driving it a few thousand kms, "and since then not a single so-called supercar has impressed me with as much driving pleasure."

Nice find!

http://www.honda.co.jp/sportscar/uehara/index.html

 

[SuperCarnitas]

A few more notes from the Murray interview:

• He put 75K kms during the time he owned his NSX
• In designing the McLaren F1 he drove a Porsche 959, Bugatti EB110, Ferrari F40, Jaguar XJ220 and others. But none satisfied their desire for a usability benchmark -- Offset pedals, high dashboards, unreliable A/C, and too-low roofs were all unacceptable. But the NSX satisfied these conditions for us.
• He felt that the NSX had a chassis that would have easily accepted a larger engine and more horsepower.
• "I copied the drive-by-wire throttle idea for the F1. I can admit to this now. (Laughs.)"
• He set the "full auto" A/C setting when he took ownership of the car, and never touched the button again.
• "Journalists focus on the aluminum body, but for me the use of aluminum for the suspension was far more significant. It's a perfect match for the not-too-large 17-inch wheels."
• "Honda philosophy at the time seemed against higher cylinder counts, and maybe that's why the NSX never got a larger engine. Which it should've had. Maybe it had something to do with the self-imposed restraint on horsepower output."
• "I so loved Honda engines that I personally visited the Tochigi labs twice, and asked them to build a 4.5L V10 or V12 for the F1. But they couldn't be convinced to do it, so the F1 ultimately got a BMW engine."

 

[Jin1976]

Great minds think alike.:biggrin:

He had a blue one? Dear God, the LBBP guys are going to go crazy over this.

 

[trev0006]

great writeup.

 

[Gansan]

I did a full translation of the article:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=dggtsppm_6cgtnscht&hl=en

 

[MvM]

I did a full translation of the article:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=dggtsppm_6cgtnscht&hl=en

WOW !!
Thank you very much for taking the time to translate that piece of information.

 

[Exiled]

Thank You Sir!

 

[Bram]

Nice find Vance...keep the articles coming

Bram

 

[nsxotic911]

A few more notes from the Murray interview:

• 
  ...
  [*]"I so loved Honda engines that I personally visited the Tochigi labs twice, and asked them to build a 4.5L V10 or V12 for the F1. But they couldn't be convinced to do it, so the F1 ultimately got a BMW engine."

There was one person that made that decision somewhere up the chain. It was not a decision made by a lower guy, I can gaurantee you that. That person should be fired, other things I can't mention on this thread, and Honda should apologize.

 

[Ski_Banker]

There was one person that made that decision somewhere up the chain. It was not a decision made by a lower guy, I can gaurantee you that.

You're probably quite right, and just imagine what that decision alone could have been worth in terms of Honda marketing, brand prestige etc. Hindsight is 20/20 of course, though. Great point.

 

[EndLeSS]

The Mclaren F1 engine thing was IMHO one of the 2 biggest sports-car related mistakes that Honda made.

The second biggest mistake IMHO that Honda made, was declining Lotus when Lotus requested to use the K20 engine (From the Integra/RSX Type S) for the Lotus Elise.
Toyota picked up the offer with their new Celica GT-S engine instead.

And around the world, the Elise was highly praised as an excellent track car.

 

[jond]

Good stuff! Thanks for the link.
It feels good for someone in Gordon Murrays league to give such high praise.

 

[simonprelude]

Gordon Murray (or at least McLaren) had a red one, it's currently owned by a member over on www.nsxcb.co.uk

 

[BladesNSX]

Surreal. All the more reason why I would be hard pressed to sell my NSX; and further reason to buy a newer NSX should I ever part with my current one.

 

[SuperCarnitas]

Paul Frere, RIP

Paul Frère, whose commentary was also featured Gordon Murray's, passed away this past weekend. RIP. (From Sports Car Market)

SCM has learned that longtime automobile journalist and Le Mans winner Paul Frère died on Saturday, February 23, in Nice, France. He was 91.

Frère's career in motorsport spanned eleven Formula One races throughout the 1950s, as well as many stints in sports cars, with eight trips to Le Mans, where in 1960 he won in a Ferrari 250TR alongside countryman Olivier Gendebien.

Frère was a well-respected automotive writer who contributed to publications around the world. He served as European Editor for Road & Track and was the author of several books, including his autobiography, My Life Full of Cars, published in 2000.

He is survived by his wife, Suzanne.

SCM will pay tribute to his life in the upcoming May issue.
Stefan Lombard
Director, SCM Platinum

 

[SuperCarnitas]

"Hey, I've read that passage before."

Just re-visiting this old thread, noting that the above English translation has traveled quite far and wide. I just ran into it again on Jalopnik today and realized its reach. Nice work!