From a 2002 Acura press CD I purchased on eBay a few years back:
NSX - Historic Pictures & Videos
- Thread starter Sterling Sackey
- Start date
'02 NSX Type S in Imola Orange Pearl & Sebring Silver
Honda only sold 25 02+ (Facelift) Type S NSX models, so these two represent 8% of the total... Except I think that these might be pre-production models or press cars, as they don't have Japanese registration number / license plates.
The Sebring Silver car has the antennae for watching broadcast TV on the NavPod display:
[TABLE="width: 538"]
<tbody>[TR]
[TD]Honda Navigation System (manufacturer option)[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]
[TABLE="width: 538"]
<tbody>[TR]
[TD="width: 323"]Honda DVD navigation system built in a position where there is little movement of the line of sight and does not affect the front view. A 6-inch wide screen and DVD-ROM are used. In addition to improving search capabilities such as 50-sound search that can quickly search for destinations even with ambiguous keywords, facility search with learning function, and 11 million phone numbers nationwide, scrolling and route searches are also smoother. In addition to the city map, display functions such as a twin map function, landmark display, and 3D map that can display different scale maps have also been enhanced. In addition to being able to enjoy TV broadcasting with a diversity TV tuner [SUP]* 1[/SUP] , it also supports VICS [SUP]* 2[/SUP] (road traffic information communication system), which displays information such as traffic jams in real time .[/TD]
[TD="width: 15"] [/TD]
[TD="width: 200"]
[/TD][/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 323"][/TD]
[TD="width: 15"][/TD]
[TD="width: 200"][/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]
[TABLE="width: 538"]
<tbody>[TR]
[TD]
Main functions[/TD]
[TD]
[TD="width: 500"]● VICS (road traffic information communication system) compatible [SUP]* 2[/SUP] ● Phone number search ● Mark list
● 3D map display ● Destination history ● Route calculation function (diversion guidance)[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]
[TABLE="width: 538"]
<tbody>[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]* 1. TV images cannot be viewed unless the parking brake is applied when the vehicle is stopped. During driving, only voice will be heard for safety. * 2.VICS is serviced in major cities throughout Japan and major highways nationwide, and the service area is gradually expanding. To display VICS information, the dealer's optional VICS receiver set is required. Please contact your sales company for details. Use only when using Honda original DVD-ROM. VICS is a trademark of the Road Traffic Information and Communication Center. ● Since this is exclusive for Honda's original DVD-ROM, various Naviken software cannot be used. ● For safety, do not operate the driver while driving. ● Although there is a navigation guide function, please drive according to road traffic regulations during actual driving. Also, the navigation system will not work except in combination with dedicated audio. ● Narrow street display is restricted while driving. ■ The screen of the photo is synthesized. The screen may differ slightly from the actual screen.[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]
- Joined
- 3 July 2016
- Messages
- 249
Honda only sold 25 02+ (Facelift) Type S NSX models, so these two represent 8% of the total... Except I think that these might be pre-production models or press cars, as they don't have Japanese registration number / license plates.
The Sebring Silver car has the antennae for watching broadcast TV on the NavPod display:
[TABLE="width: 538"]
<tbody>[TR]
[TD]Honda Navigation System (manufacturer option)[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]
[TABLE="width: 538"]
<tbody>[TR]
[TD="width: 323"]Honda DVD navigation system built in a position where there is little movement of the line of sight and does not affect the front view. A 6-inch wide screen and DVD-ROM are used. In addition to improving search capabilities such as 50-sound search that can quickly search for destinations even with ambiguous keywords, facility search with learning function, and 11 million phone numbers nationwide, scrolling and route searches are also smoother. In addition to the city map, display functions such as a twin map function, landmark display, and 3D map that can display different scale maps have also been enhanced. In addition to being able to enjoy TV broadcasting with a diversity TV tuner [SUP]* 1[/SUP] , it also supports VICS [SUP]* 2[/SUP] (road traffic information communication system), which displays information such as traffic jams in real time .[/TD]
[TD="width: 15"] [/TD]
[TD="width: 200"]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 323"][/TD]
[TD="width: 15"][/TD]
[TD="width: 200"][/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]
[TABLE="width: 538"]
<tbody>[TR]
[TD]
Main functions[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD="width: 500"]● VICS (road traffic information communication system) compatible [SUP]* 2[/SUP] ● Phone number search ● Mark list
● 3D map display ● Destination history ● Route calculation function (diversion guidance)[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]
[TABLE="width: 538"]
<tbody>[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]* 1. TV images cannot be viewed unless the parking brake is applied when the vehicle is stopped. During driving, only voice will be heard for safety. * 2.VICS is serviced in major cities throughout Japan and major highways nationwide, and the service area is gradually expanding. To display VICS information, the dealer's optional VICS receiver set is required. Please contact your sales company for details. Use only when using Honda original DVD-ROM. VICS is a trademark of the Road Traffic Information and Communication Center. ● Since this is exclusive for Honda's original DVD-ROM, various Naviken software cannot be used. ● For safety, do not operate the driver while driving. ● Although there is a navigation guide function, please drive according to road traffic regulations during actual driving. Also, the navigation system will not work except in combination with dedicated audio. ● Narrow street display is restricted while driving. ■ The screen of the photo is synthesized. The screen may differ slightly from the actual screen.[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]
Did not know all this about the navigation pod. Thank you very much for posting!
- Joined
- 3 July 2016
- Messages
- 249
Some more from that series that I have on file. This was from the original reveal at the 1989 Chicago Auto Show, before the car was lengthened to fit the 90-degree engine (notice the different proportions).
- Joined
- 3 July 2016
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- 249
Studio shots of the production car:
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Prototype at the Nurburgring. Notice the German plate beginning with "OF" - this indicates Offenbach am Main, which is the city in Germany where Honda R&D Europe is based.
- Joined
- 3 July 2016
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- 249
Early design sketches with the final concept at the bottom:
- Joined
- 3 July 2016
- Messages
- 249
Motor Sport Magazine's November 1991 test of the NSX. Full text in my next post.
- Joined
- 3 July 2016
- Messages
- 249
<section class="article-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "PT Serif", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">November 1991
Road Test – Honda NSX
<article style="box-sizing: border-box;">Instant Heritage
Despite the absence of a rear "+ 2" seat and the presence of a firmly mid-mounted engine, the Honda NSX makes everyday sense. For the first time in our post-war experience, Porsche has a rival in the practical supercar stakes.
If the Porsche 911 was the choice of the affluent in the '70s and '80s, the NSX feels as though it might well achieve equivalent status in the '90s and into the next century; a truly current expression of balanced performance.
Just how serious Honda is about its two-seater project may be gauged from the fact that it built a fresh factory at Tochigi to construct only this model.
In the NSX Honda set itself the task "that the NSX had to be as easy to live with as any other Honda." The company also set performance parameters of "no more than 11 lbs (5kg) for each horsepower to achieve no less than 160mph and the standing quarter mile in under 14 seconds." More important than Carrera 2/4 Porsche performance was to be a feeling of handling competence that was to take the mystery and sting from mid-engine motoring, whilst allowing levels of grip and driver satisfaction that would enable Honda constantly to compare its flagship with the world of Formula One.
As we all know "there are no free lunches," and Honda have not provided an amiable McLaren MP4/6 that will lap Sainsburys as easily as Suzuka. What it has done is realise new world standards in blending tremendous all-round levels of performance with the ease of motoring at its more mundane levels.
The UK Range
The first snag emerges when you read the two NSX specifications that are provided in Britain. However we pleaded, and however often Honda UK postponed the test because "the test car has been crashed into, on its way to you," we could not avoid receiving an automatic.
This automatic aversion was not mere fashion on our part: we have driven both manual and automatic models in Germany and the five-speed manual is a delight that highlights some dynamic deficiences in the automatic equivalent — defects which are far removed from just the obvious performance considerations. Not only does power drop 19bhp and rpm by 200, but you also lose the best steering system, a limited slip differential and the pleasure of a fine gear change.
To cap it all the automatic costs £3000 more (£58,000 versus £55,000) and is far from the best available. There are many European units that are better, especially the Porsche Tiptronic.
Technical Analysis
Some six years development proceeded upon a series of tightly targeted objectives. Weight and unneccessary bulk were seen as the major obstacles to the success of the project, and the decision to construct primarily in aluminium was an integral part of the project even when mule engines were being operated.
Only one steel tube section is used in the monocoque, which runs transversely beneath the dash. Other body materials included injection-moulded elastic plastics for the bumpers, vacuum double glazing of the hatchback and double layer windscreen.
Whereas Audi has only just shown a prediction for an aluminium bodied coupé (at the Frankfurt show, also a V6), Honda was building four prototypes in the late '80s and picking the best production possibility. The Japanese say the result is "an extremely rigid monocoque weighing 462 lb (210kg) including doors bonnet and trunk: ie 40 per cent less than a conventional steel body."
At just over 173in (14.4ft) long and 71in (nearly 6 feet) wide the NSX is not compact in the classic 911 mould, but the near 100inch wheelbase does ensure a comfortable ride.
Honda engineers placed a number of engine choices before the board. Honda R&D knew they required 250 to 280 bhp, provided a kerb weight of less than 3080 lb (1400kg) was achieved. Among the options they considered and dropped were a 300bhp twin turbo V6 and a dohc per bank V8 of 280bhp. Both featured Honda's simple but effective Variable Valve Timing (V-TEC) systems. The twin turbo was dismissed for its breadth and weight, and likely fuel consumption. The V8 was also a plumper package than Honda wished to pursue, expected to add 70 lbs in total.
The unit selected was a 90 degree V6 with every normally-aspirated technical trick Honda could summon to make a Jekyll and Hyde/City and Country unit. In manual transmission trim the 3-litre gives 92bhp per litre, the automatic only 85bhp.
Electronic fuel injection and ignition management was accompanied by a coil for each spark plug, but the company also employed the V-TEC valve timing that their Civics now routinely employ to generate the previously sacred 100bhp per litre, or outstanding fuel consumption. In the NSX this is accompanied by a variable volume induction system (VVIS). This deploys a magnesium plenum chamber, below and separate from the main intake manifold but connected by six butterfly valves. These are activated by vacuum conditions in the primary manifold, remaining closed below 4800rpm and allowing resonance effects to be created that enhance low to middle rpm pulling power. Beyond 4800rpm one large chamber is deployed to dispense with these resonances in favour of sheer air flow and maximum performance between 5000 and 8000 rpm, depending on engine specification.
The dual exhaust system has a "special" cast iron construction for the top manifolds and stainless steel for the rest, which includes two separate 3-way catalytic convertors. The exhaust note appears to have been as carefully created as the rest of the car and can be summarised as Porsche 911 flat-six courting a Ferrari Dino.
Cooling and air flow are naturally high priority subjects in a mid-engine car, air being taken in on the rear quarter panels. Australian testing disclosed the need for fan-assisted cooling in the engine compartment, the needs of the alternator met by a right-hand intake. The aluminium water radiator is mounted at the front, but engine temperature is also soothed via a compact oil-filled heat exchanger.
The major technical achievement in the running gear is to make the mid-engine car exceptionally friendly in its handling. Aside from providing properly located and rigid suspension arms and comparatively long-stroke struts with softish spring rates, Honda place the emphasis on their "compliance pivot" bushes.
These are installed at the pivot mounting points of the front and rear suspension arms. They are key elements in allowing excellent ride and stability without the use of traditionally stiff settings.
Action
It is such a striking vehicle that you do spend a little time looking around, as do onlookers to a marked degree. We could see that the tail-end fit and finish of our silver demonstrator was not quite the flawless exhibit that had delighted us in red for our German sorties.
We were slightly disappointed that the front "bonnet" opens to reveal a rather sprawling assortment of hardware: the dreaded spacesaver spare and a brake servo against the bulkhead, where one might have hoped to steal a little more luggage space and to cover the clutter that could not be housed elsewhere.
In compensation there is a very fair boot. The carpeted compartment took two large squashy bags, wet weather jackets and a couple of tennis rackets. Its other test was a complete week's shopping for three at ASDA, which it did with the aid of some careful packing of the interior.
The overall cockpit effect is as if a more mundane Honda, perhaps right down to the Civic line, had been bloated and crammed with every convenience feature. The central locking and electric windows, even the complex sound system, were appreciated. Yet the finest feature in this mid-engine greenhouse was the air conditioning. We have never seen a system of such clarity and efficiency.
A standard Bose HiFi cassette player and radio is neatly integrated into the heavy black plastic and leather of the oppressive cabin. The absence of a handbook meant we spent much of the test learning one particular tape track note by note.
The steering wheel conveys a mass of conflicting messages. The size and rim texture are suitably business-like, but the centre shouts "SRS AIRBAG". One wonders if this is a particularly offensive Japanese insult in the American idiom, rather than a reassurance that protection lies within.
The deliberate styling emphasis on a fighter plane cockpit does not, thankfully, extend to "head-up" instrumentation displays on the steeply raked windscreen. Instead, six of the clearest and largest black and white dials in the business are scanned by red needles. The 180 mph speedometer is balanced by a 9000 rpm tachometer redlined at 7600 and enforced by an rpm limiter at 7800.
All the creature comforts are forgotten as you move off, an exercise that seems as easy with the cable operation 5-speed (with its light twin plate clutch) as the automatic. Honda engineers must have aimed at their own standards of ease of driving in the front-drive range, for there is absolutely no trick to guiding the NSX at urban speeds. Beyond that your judgement needs to be beyond average, simply because the car has such enormous abilities.
Although we had driven the NSX previously, there was a major surprise on setting off in the British demonstrator. The steering felt light and deft whilst parking, but any kind of cornering effort felt so heavy that we thought the power assistance had failed. Over a thousand miles it became less disconcerting but we think the electronic control unit has been programmed to convey the "heavy steering is good steering" that any Lotus disproves.
At town speeds there is some bumping and thumping from the very high pressures run in the standard Yokohamas, but beyond this the NSX is better natured than machines such as the Porsche 911 turbo and this applies to its handling traits too.
We found the levels of grip so high (on both Yokohamas and Bridgestones) that even the handling circuit at Millbrook and two determined drivers did not witness more than momentary slides. All were corrected as much by the car's laziness to snap toward the usual mid-motor spin as by any steering correction. Purist drivers of racing championship skills at the German launch said they could just tell the difference between the NSX and some more prestigious badges on the ultimate limit. So could we. This middle-motor machine does not readily punish the clumsy, yet the NSX is perfectly capable of truly satisfying drivers of Grand Prix merit.
Pushing on over open A and B-roads is exactly like one would imagine contour flying on the ground would be. The Honda seems to surmount every crest and ripple, occasionally wriggling over larger camber changes, but remaining poised and ultra-rapid over all but the worst of tarmac. The antilock braking action is set very late and we encountered no problems in the action of the set fitted to the manual car: in the case of both automatics we suffered either brake judder or notable fade.
The engine deserves an essay upon its tuneful change in character as the VVIS butterflies flip open around 4800 rpm, but you are probably more interested in the performance provided. Departure from a standing start is leisurely by 250 horsepower standards, but once the automatic is interested in making rapid changes 0-60mph is despatched in 6.8 seconds and 0-100mph can take less than 16 seconds, so long as you ensure the gear change is held to over 7500 rpm, rather than leaving the automatic to deliver little over 7000.
Travelling at more than 150mph was uneventful in the Honda, which has outstanding straightline stability for a mid-engine motor car. It indicated 160mph and 6950rpm while actually achieving 154/155mph regularly. Noise levels are not low at a sustained 7000rpm, but the NSX feels every mph the thoroughly developed product that one would expect.
Verdict
Honda did not set out to build a 200mph Ferrari F40, Jaguar XJ220 or a Lamborghini Diablo. Honda knew that its small factory would be happiest at production rate of 25 vehicles a day (roughly 8000 vehicles a year) which is beyond the total output of Ferrari and Lamborghini put together. Honda had to build a sensible supercar of the broadest possible appeal.
Obviously we would not have selected the automatic transmission to assess, but we could find precious little else that attracted adverse comment. Perhaps the cockpit could be a little more exotic.
We have no objection to very high performance coupés utilising automatic gear selection, providing that they are gearboxes of equally exceptional merit, particularly in regard to permitting the driver full manual control of every ratio on instant demand. The Honda NSX automatic is a very mundane unit for such a motor car and eliminates much of the special driving experience that should be the hallmark of a car in this category. Still, of the 95 already delivered in the UK, about a third are automatic.
We think the NSX is a worthy selection for those who might otherwise buy Porsche or Ferrari. It is sufficiently different to have marked out its own territory.
The Honda NSX, despite taking styling cues from all over the world, is an original piece of thinking that will doubtless earn its own classic status, having been produced (just) in the lifetime of Sochiro Honda. -- JW
</article></section>
Road Test – Honda NSX
<article style="box-sizing: border-box;">Instant Heritage
Despite the absence of a rear "+ 2" seat and the presence of a firmly mid-mounted engine, the Honda NSX makes everyday sense. For the first time in our post-war experience, Porsche has a rival in the practical supercar stakes.
If the Porsche 911 was the choice of the affluent in the '70s and '80s, the NSX feels as though it might well achieve equivalent status in the '90s and into the next century; a truly current expression of balanced performance.
Just how serious Honda is about its two-seater project may be gauged from the fact that it built a fresh factory at Tochigi to construct only this model.
In the NSX Honda set itself the task "that the NSX had to be as easy to live with as any other Honda." The company also set performance parameters of "no more than 11 lbs (5kg) for each horsepower to achieve no less than 160mph and the standing quarter mile in under 14 seconds." More important than Carrera 2/4 Porsche performance was to be a feeling of handling competence that was to take the mystery and sting from mid-engine motoring, whilst allowing levels of grip and driver satisfaction that would enable Honda constantly to compare its flagship with the world of Formula One.
As we all know "there are no free lunches," and Honda have not provided an amiable McLaren MP4/6 that will lap Sainsburys as easily as Suzuka. What it has done is realise new world standards in blending tremendous all-round levels of performance with the ease of motoring at its more mundane levels.
The UK Range
The first snag emerges when you read the two NSX specifications that are provided in Britain. However we pleaded, and however often Honda UK postponed the test because "the test car has been crashed into, on its way to you," we could not avoid receiving an automatic.
This automatic aversion was not mere fashion on our part: we have driven both manual and automatic models in Germany and the five-speed manual is a delight that highlights some dynamic deficiences in the automatic equivalent — defects which are far removed from just the obvious performance considerations. Not only does power drop 19bhp and rpm by 200, but you also lose the best steering system, a limited slip differential and the pleasure of a fine gear change.
To cap it all the automatic costs £3000 more (£58,000 versus £55,000) and is far from the best available. There are many European units that are better, especially the Porsche Tiptronic.
Technical Analysis
Some six years development proceeded upon a series of tightly targeted objectives. Weight and unneccessary bulk were seen as the major obstacles to the success of the project, and the decision to construct primarily in aluminium was an integral part of the project even when mule engines were being operated.
Only one steel tube section is used in the monocoque, which runs transversely beneath the dash. Other body materials included injection-moulded elastic plastics for the bumpers, vacuum double glazing of the hatchback and double layer windscreen.
Whereas Audi has only just shown a prediction for an aluminium bodied coupé (at the Frankfurt show, also a V6), Honda was building four prototypes in the late '80s and picking the best production possibility. The Japanese say the result is "an extremely rigid monocoque weighing 462 lb (210kg) including doors bonnet and trunk: ie 40 per cent less than a conventional steel body."
At just over 173in (14.4ft) long and 71in (nearly 6 feet) wide the NSX is not compact in the classic 911 mould, but the near 100inch wheelbase does ensure a comfortable ride.
Honda engineers placed a number of engine choices before the board. Honda R&D knew they required 250 to 280 bhp, provided a kerb weight of less than 3080 lb (1400kg) was achieved. Among the options they considered and dropped were a 300bhp twin turbo V6 and a dohc per bank V8 of 280bhp. Both featured Honda's simple but effective Variable Valve Timing (V-TEC) systems. The twin turbo was dismissed for its breadth and weight, and likely fuel consumption. The V8 was also a plumper package than Honda wished to pursue, expected to add 70 lbs in total.
The unit selected was a 90 degree V6 with every normally-aspirated technical trick Honda could summon to make a Jekyll and Hyde/City and Country unit. In manual transmission trim the 3-litre gives 92bhp per litre, the automatic only 85bhp.
Electronic fuel injection and ignition management was accompanied by a coil for each spark plug, but the company also employed the V-TEC valve timing that their Civics now routinely employ to generate the previously sacred 100bhp per litre, or outstanding fuel consumption. In the NSX this is accompanied by a variable volume induction system (VVIS). This deploys a magnesium plenum chamber, below and separate from the main intake manifold but connected by six butterfly valves. These are activated by vacuum conditions in the primary manifold, remaining closed below 4800rpm and allowing resonance effects to be created that enhance low to middle rpm pulling power. Beyond 4800rpm one large chamber is deployed to dispense with these resonances in favour of sheer air flow and maximum performance between 5000 and 8000 rpm, depending on engine specification.
The dual exhaust system has a "special" cast iron construction for the top manifolds and stainless steel for the rest, which includes two separate 3-way catalytic convertors. The exhaust note appears to have been as carefully created as the rest of the car and can be summarised as Porsche 911 flat-six courting a Ferrari Dino.
Cooling and air flow are naturally high priority subjects in a mid-engine car, air being taken in on the rear quarter panels. Australian testing disclosed the need for fan-assisted cooling in the engine compartment, the needs of the alternator met by a right-hand intake. The aluminium water radiator is mounted at the front, but engine temperature is also soothed via a compact oil-filled heat exchanger.
The major technical achievement in the running gear is to make the mid-engine car exceptionally friendly in its handling. Aside from providing properly located and rigid suspension arms and comparatively long-stroke struts with softish spring rates, Honda place the emphasis on their "compliance pivot" bushes.
These are installed at the pivot mounting points of the front and rear suspension arms. They are key elements in allowing excellent ride and stability without the use of traditionally stiff settings.
Action
It is such a striking vehicle that you do spend a little time looking around, as do onlookers to a marked degree. We could see that the tail-end fit and finish of our silver demonstrator was not quite the flawless exhibit that had delighted us in red for our German sorties.
We were slightly disappointed that the front "bonnet" opens to reveal a rather sprawling assortment of hardware: the dreaded spacesaver spare and a brake servo against the bulkhead, where one might have hoped to steal a little more luggage space and to cover the clutter that could not be housed elsewhere.
In compensation there is a very fair boot. The carpeted compartment took two large squashy bags, wet weather jackets and a couple of tennis rackets. Its other test was a complete week's shopping for three at ASDA, which it did with the aid of some careful packing of the interior.
The overall cockpit effect is as if a more mundane Honda, perhaps right down to the Civic line, had been bloated and crammed with every convenience feature. The central locking and electric windows, even the complex sound system, were appreciated. Yet the finest feature in this mid-engine greenhouse was the air conditioning. We have never seen a system of such clarity and efficiency.
A standard Bose HiFi cassette player and radio is neatly integrated into the heavy black plastic and leather of the oppressive cabin. The absence of a handbook meant we spent much of the test learning one particular tape track note by note.
The steering wheel conveys a mass of conflicting messages. The size and rim texture are suitably business-like, but the centre shouts "SRS AIRBAG". One wonders if this is a particularly offensive Japanese insult in the American idiom, rather than a reassurance that protection lies within.
The deliberate styling emphasis on a fighter plane cockpit does not, thankfully, extend to "head-up" instrumentation displays on the steeply raked windscreen. Instead, six of the clearest and largest black and white dials in the business are scanned by red needles. The 180 mph speedometer is balanced by a 9000 rpm tachometer redlined at 7600 and enforced by an rpm limiter at 7800.
All the creature comforts are forgotten as you move off, an exercise that seems as easy with the cable operation 5-speed (with its light twin plate clutch) as the automatic. Honda engineers must have aimed at their own standards of ease of driving in the front-drive range, for there is absolutely no trick to guiding the NSX at urban speeds. Beyond that your judgement needs to be beyond average, simply because the car has such enormous abilities.
Although we had driven the NSX previously, there was a major surprise on setting off in the British demonstrator. The steering felt light and deft whilst parking, but any kind of cornering effort felt so heavy that we thought the power assistance had failed. Over a thousand miles it became less disconcerting but we think the electronic control unit has been programmed to convey the "heavy steering is good steering" that any Lotus disproves.
At town speeds there is some bumping and thumping from the very high pressures run in the standard Yokohamas, but beyond this the NSX is better natured than machines such as the Porsche 911 turbo and this applies to its handling traits too.
We found the levels of grip so high (on both Yokohamas and Bridgestones) that even the handling circuit at Millbrook and two determined drivers did not witness more than momentary slides. All were corrected as much by the car's laziness to snap toward the usual mid-motor spin as by any steering correction. Purist drivers of racing championship skills at the German launch said they could just tell the difference between the NSX and some more prestigious badges on the ultimate limit. So could we. This middle-motor machine does not readily punish the clumsy, yet the NSX is perfectly capable of truly satisfying drivers of Grand Prix merit.
Pushing on over open A and B-roads is exactly like one would imagine contour flying on the ground would be. The Honda seems to surmount every crest and ripple, occasionally wriggling over larger camber changes, but remaining poised and ultra-rapid over all but the worst of tarmac. The antilock braking action is set very late and we encountered no problems in the action of the set fitted to the manual car: in the case of both automatics we suffered either brake judder or notable fade.
The engine deserves an essay upon its tuneful change in character as the VVIS butterflies flip open around 4800 rpm, but you are probably more interested in the performance provided. Departure from a standing start is leisurely by 250 horsepower standards, but once the automatic is interested in making rapid changes 0-60mph is despatched in 6.8 seconds and 0-100mph can take less than 16 seconds, so long as you ensure the gear change is held to over 7500 rpm, rather than leaving the automatic to deliver little over 7000.
Travelling at more than 150mph was uneventful in the Honda, which has outstanding straightline stability for a mid-engine motor car. It indicated 160mph and 6950rpm while actually achieving 154/155mph regularly. Noise levels are not low at a sustained 7000rpm, but the NSX feels every mph the thoroughly developed product that one would expect.
Verdict
Honda did not set out to build a 200mph Ferrari F40, Jaguar XJ220 or a Lamborghini Diablo. Honda knew that its small factory would be happiest at production rate of 25 vehicles a day (roughly 8000 vehicles a year) which is beyond the total output of Ferrari and Lamborghini put together. Honda had to build a sensible supercar of the broadest possible appeal.
Obviously we would not have selected the automatic transmission to assess, but we could find precious little else that attracted adverse comment. Perhaps the cockpit could be a little more exotic.
We have no objection to very high performance coupés utilising automatic gear selection, providing that they are gearboxes of equally exceptional merit, particularly in regard to permitting the driver full manual control of every ratio on instant demand. The Honda NSX automatic is a very mundane unit for such a motor car and eliminates much of the special driving experience that should be the hallmark of a car in this category. Still, of the 95 already delivered in the UK, about a third are automatic.
We think the NSX is a worthy selection for those who might otherwise buy Porsche or Ferrari. It is sufficiently different to have marked out its own territory.
The Honda NSX, despite taking styling cues from all over the world, is an original piece of thinking that will doubtless earn its own classic status, having been produced (just) in the lifetime of Sochiro Honda. -- JW
</article></section>
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- Messages
- 249
The 2002 redesign's focus on aerodynamic improvement was made clear by this press photo:
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- 249
1998 coupe and targa variants, unfortunately we did not get this choice in the USA aside from the ultra-rare specially ordered coupes:
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NSX Zanardi #41 was a surprise guest at Car and Driver’s Lightning Lap 2019 competition at Virginia International Raceway.
This particular example reportedly lives at the Performance Manufacturing Center (PMC) in Ohio, where the new NSX is produced.
One of my favorite quotes from the Car and Driver writers as a result of their testing: “...the old NSX still captivates us after all these years. It's so low, and the nose tapers toward the tarmac in a way that makes you think you could touch the track.”
- Joined
- 3 July 2016
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- 249
Thanks! I love these cars, and I enjoy being something of a historian on their behalf where possible.
- Joined
- 3 July 2016
- Messages
- 249
The C32B engine fitted to the NA2 NSX. A bored and tuned version of the original 3.0-liter C30A, and a true gem.
Original press release on the engine can be read here: http://www.nsxprime.com/wiki/1997_Powertrain
Original press release on the engine can be read here: http://www.nsxprime.com/wiki/1997_Powertrain
- Joined
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The NSX chassis. An excerpt from my article on the development history of the NSX below.
When it came to chassis development, the NSX would have to be both light and rigid to meet its R&D goals. Lightness was important for obvious reasons, and rigidity was prioritized for both dynamic responsiveness and driving refinement (a more rigid chassis will cause less noise, vibration, and harshness after all). The team experimented with high-strength steels and even carbon fiber, but in the end it was decided that the car would be constructed entirely from aluminum. When the Honda research team initially reached out to aluminum suppliers, the suppliers didn't take them seriously in the slightest; "You want to build the chassis out of what?" Aluminum had simply never been used for an entire monocoque chassis, and it was going to be a huge struggle to make it work; suppliers assumed Honda would give up and balk on any contracts. In the end, though, through the use of various extruding methods, different types of aluminum selected for different areas, and a Cray II supercomputer for modeling and stress analyses, the first all-aluminum spaceframe chassis used in a production car was born. The chassis eventually became even more rigid than the initial goals, the result of a certain test driver by the name of Ayrton Senna driving an early test car and telling the team it felt, quote, "fragile." They went back to the drawing board, and the production chassis became 50% stiffer still. The final version weighed in at 452 lbs, 40% lighter than a steel chassis but significantly stronger.
When it came to chassis development, the NSX would have to be both light and rigid to meet its R&D goals. Lightness was important for obvious reasons, and rigidity was prioritized for both dynamic responsiveness and driving refinement (a more rigid chassis will cause less noise, vibration, and harshness after all). The team experimented with high-strength steels and even carbon fiber, but in the end it was decided that the car would be constructed entirely from aluminum. When the Honda research team initially reached out to aluminum suppliers, the suppliers didn't take them seriously in the slightest; "You want to build the chassis out of what?" Aluminum had simply never been used for an entire monocoque chassis, and it was going to be a huge struggle to make it work; suppliers assumed Honda would give up and balk on any contracts. In the end, though, through the use of various extruding methods, different types of aluminum selected for different areas, and a Cray II supercomputer for modeling and stress analyses, the first all-aluminum spaceframe chassis used in a production car was born. The chassis eventually became even more rigid than the initial goals, the result of a certain test driver by the name of Ayrton Senna driving an early test car and telling the team it felt, quote, "fragile." They went back to the drawing board, and the production chassis became 50% stiffer still. The final version weighed in at 452 lbs, 40% lighter than a steel chassis but significantly stronger.
- Joined
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The drama over tires was an interesting chapter of the NSX's early life, that reached all the way to the level of an NHTSA investigation and a New York Times article. Copied below is the February 22, 1994 article from that edition of the New York Times in full.
The Acura NSX is hardly your typical car. An aluminum-bodied rear-wheel-drive sports car with a 270-horsepower engine, it lists for $65,000, can hold the road at 140 miles an hour and was acclaimed at its introduction in 1990 as a marvel of Japanese automotive technology.
But its tire wear has been far from typical, as well. In some cases, the rear tires have been found bald of tread after 3,000 miles.
"Imagine having to pull into a service station every few months, saying, 'Change the tires and check the oil,' " said Ronald Koksal, a lawyer who is suing the American Honda Motor Company, which distributes the Acura line in the United States, on behalf of a NSX owner injured when his car spun on a wet road and collided with another vehicle.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an inquiry into why the rear tires on some NSX's are wearing out so quickly, the first time the Government has directly looked into tire wear.
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The agency declined to provide details of the investigation, other than saying it decided to proceed on Jan. 28. But it would seem the agency suspects that some aspect of the car is causing the tires to wear out, because a spokesman, Ben Langer, said the inquiry was "a vehicle investigation, not a tire investigation."
While this is an extreme case, the complaints about the NSX and its tires provide a window into the murky world of tire wear, the Government's ratings of tires and what drivers can reasonably expect.
"It's almost impossible for consumers to get a true picture of expected tire wear, and the lack of information is stunning," said Sean Kane, a former staff member at the Center for Auto Safety, an advocacy group in Washington, and now a researcher with Ralph Hoar & Associates, a vehicle-safety research firm in Arlington, Va.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a division of the Transportation Department, formally decided to investigate the Acura NSX late in January, after receiving eight complaints about rear tires' wearing out quickly. The front tires, which are a different size, have not been the subject of complaints.
Executives of American Honda said in interviews last week that the complaints represented a very small portion of NSX owners and that the tread wear was not unusual in such a high-performance vehicle. "These are high-performance tires made specially for a high-performance car," said William Willen, managing legal counsel for American Honda.
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But some researchers say that even as few as eight complaints to the Government represent a significant number, because customers dissatisfied with tread wear generally complain to tire makers and car dealers.
"If a tire failure causes accidents it's one thing, but if it's premature wear it becomes just an irritant, not worth time to complain," said Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety.
Fewer than 5,000 NSX's are on the road in the United States, which means that statistics are available on fewer than 10,000 rear tires. The cars come equipped with the Yokohama Rubber Company's tire model A022, especially designed for the NSX. By contrast, the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company sells more than a million tires a month from its Invicta line, and an examination of complaints to the highway safety administration found only 18 complaints of premature tread wear involving the Invicta in the last two years.
Yokohama Tire has acknowledged receiving at least 200 complaints about the NSX tires. Buyer's Lament
"Who wants to go through the hassle of buying new tires four times a year?" said Robert Steinborn of San Diego, who bought an NSX in May 1992. Five months and 7,000 miles later, he found his rear tires bald and complained to his dealer and to Acura. Getting no satisfaction, last year he sued the Honda Motor Company, saying he had received no warning that the tires would wear out so quickly and seeking a full refund of the car price.
"I wouldn't have bought the car if I knew about the tire problem," Mr. Steinborn said. "This is a very extreme situation." The trial is to begin on Friday in in San Diego.
At least one case brought to the Government's attention involved serious injury. Dr. A. Bernhard Kliefoth 3d, a neurosurgeon in Knoxville, Tenn., told the agency that he had been driving his NSX, with 6,053 miles on it, at 45 miles an hour on Oct. 5, 1991, when he lost control on a wet road and collided with an oncoming car, suffering a ruptured disk in his lower back. The police report said the car's rear tires were completely bald.
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Dr. Kliefoth, who is represented by Mr. Koksal and the law firm of Butler, Vines & Babb in Knoxville, has filed suit against American Honda, and Appletree Acura, the dealership where he bought the car.
The NSX's tires are made of a relatively soft compound to provide superior traction and braking, at the expense of tread life, which reflects the classic trade-off in tire manufacturing.
Mr. Steinborn said that when he brought his car in for repairs at the dealer where he bought it, Pass Acura of Escondido, Calif., "I asked the service adviser," and he said, 'These are the tires that should be on this car, and yes, they wear out quickly.' "
The highway safety administration provides ratings of tread wear by driving cars 6,400 miles over public roads near San Angelo, Tex. The cars travel in convoys of four at constant speeds to minimize the effect of different driving styles. Each tire receives a score, and a tire graded 150 is expected to provide 50 percent more mileage than one graded 100.
Under the rating system, Yokohama's tires designed for the Acura NSX received a rating of 120, one of the lowest tread-wear ratings of any tire sold in the United States. Honda Defends Its Choice
Honda defends the tires it uses on the car. "We put the safest tires we can on these cars," said Mr. Willen, the senior lawyer. "A lesser tire would not perform as well, and that would be less than optimal for our customers."
Noting the 120 rating stamped on each NSX tire, Mr. Willen said that constituted adequate warning that the NSX's tires might wear out more quickly than those of other cars. "Anyone who knows about this rating scale should know the rating's low and nothing is promised," he said.
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Mr. Kane, the researcher, said the rapid tire wear was a secondary issue. "Both Acura and Yokohama have full knowledge of this problem," he said. "They've had the complaints, but owners have no way of knowing this is a problem. The last thing consumers do when they've bought a car and it still smells new is to poke their heads underneath to check the tire."
Timothy G. Blood, a lawyer at the San Diego firm of Duckor & Spradling, who is representing Mr. Steinborn and his wife, Angela, seemed to agree with both of these seemingly contrasting views. "There's nothing wrong with the tires," he said. "They do what they're supposed to do."
Instead, he criticized Honda for failing to notify customers from the start that the NSX was equipped with high-performance tires that were likely to wear out quickly. Mr. Blood also said that something in the car's suspension, geometry or camber -- the angle of the tires to the axle -- caused premature tire wear, a contention Honda rejects.
Mr. Koksal, the Tennessee lawyer, also said: "We file like it's a problem in the design of the car. It seems to be pervasive and endemic to vehicle."
Among other high-performance cars, no comparable tire-wear problem has emerged. The Chevrolet Corvette, for instance, is equipped with Goodyear's Eagle GSC tire, which has a wear rating of 180, 50 percent higher than the Yokohama A022. A spokesman for Chevrolet said tread wear had not been an issue among Corvette owners. Complaints to Tire Maker
At Yokohama Tire, company officials have made public their log of customer complaints. R. Clayton Green, a marketing manager, said in a sworn deposition in the suit brought by Mr. Steinborn that Yokohama had received about 200 complaints from NSX owners, "more than normal" for most of the company's tires. He said 80 percent of these involved customers' "complaining about short mileage on the rear tires."
Questioned by Mr. Blood, the Steinborns' lawyer, during the deposition, Mr. Green said that among the complaints from customers, the rear tires lost their tread at "a low of 3,000, a high of about 9,000" and an "average of maybe 5,000" miles.
<aside class="css-ew4tgv" aria-hidden="true" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px auto; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: flex; width: 210px; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center;"></aside>
While Mr. Green said the complainants who got low mileage "were somewhat aggressive in their use of the automobile," he added that Yokohama Tire believed that the drivers who drove their cars more conservatively found their tires were lasting "10,000 to 15,000 miles" -- still less than half what the Government rating would indicate.
The Federal tire ratings are not translated into expected mileage, although a technical report from the highway safety administration in 1981 said that a rating of 100 should provide 30,000 miles of tread life "under highly specified test conditions."
The Government and the tire makers say such predictions are impossible in the real world because driving styles and road conditions vary greatly. Mr. Willen of Honda, for instance, derided the ratings as "not a real-world driving test or measure of a tire's longevity."
The Acura NSX is hardly your typical car. An aluminum-bodied rear-wheel-drive sports car with a 270-horsepower engine, it lists for $65,000, can hold the road at 140 miles an hour and was acclaimed at its introduction in 1990 as a marvel of Japanese automotive technology.
But its tire wear has been far from typical, as well. In some cases, the rear tires have been found bald of tread after 3,000 miles.
"Imagine having to pull into a service station every few months, saying, 'Change the tires and check the oil,' " said Ronald Koksal, a lawyer who is suing the American Honda Motor Company, which distributes the Acura line in the United States, on behalf of a NSX owner injured when his car spun on a wet road and collided with another vehicle.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an inquiry into why the rear tires on some NSX's are wearing out so quickly, the first time the Government has directly looked into tire wear.
<aside class="css-ew4tgv" aria-hidden="true" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px auto; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: flex; width: 210px; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center;"></aside>
The agency declined to provide details of the investigation, other than saying it decided to proceed on Jan. 28. But it would seem the agency suspects that some aspect of the car is causing the tires to wear out, because a spokesman, Ben Langer, said the inquiry was "a vehicle investigation, not a tire investigation."
While this is an extreme case, the complaints about the NSX and its tires provide a window into the murky world of tire wear, the Government's ratings of tires and what drivers can reasonably expect.
"It's almost impossible for consumers to get a true picture of expected tire wear, and the lack of information is stunning," said Sean Kane, a former staff member at the Center for Auto Safety, an advocacy group in Washington, and now a researcher with Ralph Hoar & Associates, a vehicle-safety research firm in Arlington, Va.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a division of the Transportation Department, formally decided to investigate the Acura NSX late in January, after receiving eight complaints about rear tires' wearing out quickly. The front tires, which are a different size, have not been the subject of complaints.
Executives of American Honda said in interviews last week that the complaints represented a very small portion of NSX owners and that the tread wear was not unusual in such a high-performance vehicle. "These are high-performance tires made specially for a high-performance car," said William Willen, managing legal counsel for American Honda.
<aside class="css-ew4tgv" aria-hidden="true" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px auto; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: flex; width: 210px; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center;"></aside>
But some researchers say that even as few as eight complaints to the Government represent a significant number, because customers dissatisfied with tread wear generally complain to tire makers and car dealers.
"If a tire failure causes accidents it's one thing, but if it's premature wear it becomes just an irritant, not worth time to complain," said Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety.
Fewer than 5,000 NSX's are on the road in the United States, which means that statistics are available on fewer than 10,000 rear tires. The cars come equipped with the Yokohama Rubber Company's tire model A022, especially designed for the NSX. By contrast, the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company sells more than a million tires a month from its Invicta line, and an examination of complaints to the highway safety administration found only 18 complaints of premature tread wear involving the Invicta in the last two years.
Yokohama Tire has acknowledged receiving at least 200 complaints about the NSX tires. Buyer's Lament
"Who wants to go through the hassle of buying new tires four times a year?" said Robert Steinborn of San Diego, who bought an NSX in May 1992. Five months and 7,000 miles later, he found his rear tires bald and complained to his dealer and to Acura. Getting no satisfaction, last year he sued the Honda Motor Company, saying he had received no warning that the tires would wear out so quickly and seeking a full refund of the car price.
"I wouldn't have bought the car if I knew about the tire problem," Mr. Steinborn said. "This is a very extreme situation." The trial is to begin on Friday in in San Diego.
At least one case brought to the Government's attention involved serious injury. Dr. A. Bernhard Kliefoth 3d, a neurosurgeon in Knoxville, Tenn., told the agency that he had been driving his NSX, with 6,053 miles on it, at 45 miles an hour on Oct. 5, 1991, when he lost control on a wet road and collided with an oncoming car, suffering a ruptured disk in his lower back. The police report said the car's rear tires were completely bald.
<aside class="css-ew4tgv" aria-hidden="true" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px auto; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: flex; width: 210px; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center;"></aside>
Dr. Kliefoth, who is represented by Mr. Koksal and the law firm of Butler, Vines & Babb in Knoxville, has filed suit against American Honda, and Appletree Acura, the dealership where he bought the car.
The NSX's tires are made of a relatively soft compound to provide superior traction and braking, at the expense of tread life, which reflects the classic trade-off in tire manufacturing.
Mr. Steinborn said that when he brought his car in for repairs at the dealer where he bought it, Pass Acura of Escondido, Calif., "I asked the service adviser," and he said, 'These are the tires that should be on this car, and yes, they wear out quickly.' "
The highway safety administration provides ratings of tread wear by driving cars 6,400 miles over public roads near San Angelo, Tex. The cars travel in convoys of four at constant speeds to minimize the effect of different driving styles. Each tire receives a score, and a tire graded 150 is expected to provide 50 percent more mileage than one graded 100.
Under the rating system, Yokohama's tires designed for the Acura NSX received a rating of 120, one of the lowest tread-wear ratings of any tire sold in the United States. Honda Defends Its Choice
Honda defends the tires it uses on the car. "We put the safest tires we can on these cars," said Mr. Willen, the senior lawyer. "A lesser tire would not perform as well, and that would be less than optimal for our customers."
Noting the 120 rating stamped on each NSX tire, Mr. Willen said that constituted adequate warning that the NSX's tires might wear out more quickly than those of other cars. "Anyone who knows about this rating scale should know the rating's low and nothing is promised," he said.
<aside class="css-ew4tgv" aria-hidden="true" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px auto; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: flex; width: 210px; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center;"></aside>
Mr. Kane, the researcher, said the rapid tire wear was a secondary issue. "Both Acura and Yokohama have full knowledge of this problem," he said. "They've had the complaints, but owners have no way of knowing this is a problem. The last thing consumers do when they've bought a car and it still smells new is to poke their heads underneath to check the tire."
Timothy G. Blood, a lawyer at the San Diego firm of Duckor & Spradling, who is representing Mr. Steinborn and his wife, Angela, seemed to agree with both of these seemingly contrasting views. "There's nothing wrong with the tires," he said. "They do what they're supposed to do."
Instead, he criticized Honda for failing to notify customers from the start that the NSX was equipped with high-performance tires that were likely to wear out quickly. Mr. Blood also said that something in the car's suspension, geometry or camber -- the angle of the tires to the axle -- caused premature tire wear, a contention Honda rejects.
Mr. Koksal, the Tennessee lawyer, also said: "We file like it's a problem in the design of the car. It seems to be pervasive and endemic to vehicle."
Among other high-performance cars, no comparable tire-wear problem has emerged. The Chevrolet Corvette, for instance, is equipped with Goodyear's Eagle GSC tire, which has a wear rating of 180, 50 percent higher than the Yokohama A022. A spokesman for Chevrolet said tread wear had not been an issue among Corvette owners. Complaints to Tire Maker
At Yokohama Tire, company officials have made public their log of customer complaints. R. Clayton Green, a marketing manager, said in a sworn deposition in the suit brought by Mr. Steinborn that Yokohama had received about 200 complaints from NSX owners, "more than normal" for most of the company's tires. He said 80 percent of these involved customers' "complaining about short mileage on the rear tires."
Questioned by Mr. Blood, the Steinborns' lawyer, during the deposition, Mr. Green said that among the complaints from customers, the rear tires lost their tread at "a low of 3,000, a high of about 9,000" and an "average of maybe 5,000" miles.
<aside class="css-ew4tgv" aria-hidden="true" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px auto; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: flex; width: 210px; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center;"></aside>
While Mr. Green said the complainants who got low mileage "were somewhat aggressive in their use of the automobile," he added that Yokohama Tire believed that the drivers who drove their cars more conservatively found their tires were lasting "10,000 to 15,000 miles" -- still less than half what the Government rating would indicate.
The Federal tire ratings are not translated into expected mileage, although a technical report from the highway safety administration in 1981 said that a rating of 100 should provide 30,000 miles of tread life "under highly specified test conditions."
The Government and the tire makers say such predictions are impossible in the real world because driving styles and road conditions vary greatly. Mr. Willen of Honda, for instance, derided the ratings as "not a real-world driving test or measure of a tire's longevity."
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I really like this thread
Cheers!
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Not "historic" per se, but some great modern reviewing of the original NSX in this video:
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<iframe width="500" height="300" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nbdXFdML8eM?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" style="max-width: 100%; color: rgb(60, 58, 61); font-family: proxima, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px;"></iframe>
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Zanardi "At a Glance" press release:
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