"Is the NSX an exotic?"

IMO, the NSX was both an exotic and supercar when it was released and maybe through 97. Today, it is still exotic, but it is not a supercar.
 
although in some sense exotic means when you hit the brakes your radio will change channels and your side mirror will fall off :biggrin:
 
If the NSX is not an exotic, it's only because it does not have the right badge on the ass to make it carry the mystique that a lambo or F-car does. Those guys will say the NSX is a POS Honda, but what they do not understand is that they owe a big thanks for forcing the Italians to actually put together a car that will not fall apart if you attempt to drive it more than 3 days a month. Those guys need to be forced to buy a 86 328 or 91 348, or better yet a 89 Countach and try to drive it more than 1000 miles a year. It will bankrupt them.
These are the same guys who say a Ford GT is not an Exotic, but let them take one on at a HPDE and get their ass handed to them.
 
I occasionally see an old Countach or Ferrari, and they are always smokin' out the tailpipe like a 75 chevy pickup. :biggrin:
 
wikipedia on the NSX:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_NSX
"Despite the NSX's current age, it still has a strong base of fans and supporters. Honda and others describe the NSX as a supercar based on its styling, body type, drivetrain layout, and handling. Some people have disagreed, claiming that the Honda NSX is not powerful enough. Still, for a time, it sported the highest per-litre specific output of any road going naturally aspirated V6 in the world."


"Honda shocked the exotic car world when it introduced its NSX in 1990. Honda designers started with the basic exotic car wedge (championed by the Ferrari Testarossa and 308), that would remain basically unchanged for its entire life. "


wikipedia on what is a supercar:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exotic_car
"The proper application of this term is subjective and disputed, especially among enthusiasts. In addition, the use of the term is dependent on the era..."
Performance criteria:
Power-to-weight ratio
Acceleration
Top Speed
Stopping ability
Handling
Styling
Focused design


wikipedias list of supercars.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_supercars
Has NSX as a 'disputed' supercar is the same league as ferrari 360, porsche 911, etc. It looks to me like a 97 NSX is faster then a 95 Lamborghini, so I would say yeah, for its time, its a supercar... The trick is they made them for so long, it may have been a supercar when made in 91-98, but it wouldn't necessarly be a supercar when made in 2005?


So I would say its definitally an exotic, and up until the late ninties it was a supercar. Although I don't think something can be unclassified as a supercar when it gets old.

Honda calls it a supercar. I think TopGear calls it a supercar. Who else? I would love to see which magazines labeled it as what.
 
"a rose by any other name...."

exotic; supercar; overpriced Honda; poor-man's Ferrari...

whatever. Frankly, I don't care what others call it or consider it to be. I just call it an NSX and there's no disputing that. Why are people caught up in labeling a car?

J
 
Would you call the R34 or Lancer Evo supercars? My students were asking me when I said the NSX was a supercar in its time and was built to beat the F348. IMO I would call the R34 a super GT and the Evo a sport saloon. Am I right? Those car do have performance but I would not call them them a supercar due to their styling.
 
Jin1976 said:
Those car do have performance but I would not call them them a supercar due to their styling.
Click to expand...

Right, they do not have a focused design. They're 4 doors, and made of metal off a production line. A supercar must be designed from scratch with a single purpose.

Also, I do not think a mass produced car can be considered a supercar.
 
I do not understand why people insist on judging something on how old it is and whether or not it is surpassed.

For those of you that know a bit of computer history, I am sure you have heard of Silicon Graphics. They produced some of the most advanced computers in the world during the 90s. The SGI Onyx was a supercomputer when it was released. Now PCs have surpassed it. But it is still a supercomputer and a milestone in the evolution of computing. It is the same with an NSX. Sure, there are things that are newer, better, faster perhaps, but that does not change what the NSX was originally - a handmade exotic.

Jin1976 said:
IMO I would call the R34 a super GT and the Evo a sport saloon.
Click to expand...

An Evo is an economy sedan with performance modifications. People that say the Evo is an exotic and an NSX is not are delusional.
 
PoohBEAR said:
NSX? dated, over price, no cup holder POS!!!
Click to expand...

You forgot to mention, it is a car for those who cannot afford a Ferrari:biggrin:
 
personally i think it meets all of the meanings.... (i recall a post where somebody got flashed driving down the street)..... word to your mutha

also, i dont' think a stock nsx looks that amazing (esp a 1991 with stockies on it) in the pictures.... but you see it next to something or in real life and you realize that it is different.

ex·ot·ic
adj.

1. From another part of the world; foreign: exotic tropical plants in a greenhouse. See Synonyms at foreign.
2. Intriguingly unusual or different; excitingly strange: “If something can be explained simply, in a familiar way, then it is best to avoid more exotic explanations” (Chet Raymo). See Synonyms at fantastic.
3. Of or involving striptease: an exotic dancer.
 
I think you have to compare it with it's place in time. A 1978 512BB would be a supercar then (and now), even though it can be out run and out handled by station wagons these days. It's like women. Twiggy was a supermodel in the 60's, but she would just be a skinny bitch today. Then again, that might make her a supermodel again!
 
Shumdit said:
I think you have to compare it with it's place in time. A 1978 512BB would be a supercar then (and now), even though it can be out run and out handled by station wagons these days. It's like women. Twiggy was a supermodel in the 60's, but she would just be a skinny bitch today. Then again, that might make her a supermodel again!
Click to expand...

You hit the nail on the head here and also made a very good analogy. If you compare cars and women (I apologize for objectifying women here), they both have beauty measured in very different ways. Time has a great impact on this and becomes an important part of the discussion.

Oh how I would love to take Raquel Welch or Sophia Loren for a test drive. And the Dino and Muira are both still very beautiful.

Did I get that backwards?:biggrin:
 
Don't forget those original Charlie Angels.:biggrin:
nsx2tall said:
Oh how I would love to take Raquel Welch or Sophia Loren for a test drive. And the Dino and Muira are both still very beautiful.

Did I get that backwards?:biggrin:
Click to expand...
 

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