Tell me about the time you 1st drove the nsx

Joined
25 August 2010
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14
Location
Vancouver, BC
Well ive been lurking on this forum for a while and envious of nsx owners, i love the way it looks its just a matter of finding a car locally to test drive before i can pull the trigger. Im in vancouver and nsx here are rare as hell.

anywho i was wondering if any of you guys could share your experience when you 1st drove the nsx. would love to read and day dream when my time comes. thanks.
 
First time I drove a NSX is when I went to go purchase it from the previous owner. It was also the day that I learned to drive a manual transmission!

Drove down to the Tampa area with my dad to go buy it and drive it home. Worked out great! Took me several weeks to get used to stick shift, but I've got it now!
 
The first NSX I drove, I purchased 15 minutes later. It was love at first sight back in 1996.

I saw my first NSX at the L.A. Auto Show 1991 spinning around on that turntable and one day I said to myself, I am going to buy that car. Five years later, I purchased this car after college graduation. It was my present to myself.

Well worth every penny. :biggrin:
 
The first time I drove one was in the original Need for Speed on the Panasonic 3DO game console in around '94 or '95. I could handily beat just about any other car in the mountain stage. The city? Forget it.:frown: My first REAL experience was incredible. In '03 I got to drive both an '03 and the owner of the dealership's '91. Both were awesome, but you can definitely tell the diff. between them. At the time, I was biased b/c the owner of the dealership just let me take it around the block and putter. They had a lease special going on with the new ones at the time, so the salesman was eager to take me out in the '03 even though it was out of my $ range. He drove out to an area with a nice little stretch of road with little traffic and we switched seats. He allowed me to flex it's muscles a little and that was all it took! I'd never had an experience like this in a car before. The combo of having the targa off, the sunny spring day and the engine note left me with a feeling that I knew that I would have to experience time and again. The Rush song "Red Barchetta" came to mind when I would think back to that day. And after passing on four '91's, I finally found the one I was looking for two years ago; happy ever since!:biggrin:
 
Bought the car sight un-seen. Had it imported to the country, and delivered to my home. Drove it off the driveway and around the block. Never drove one before that moment.
 
I first drove one on the day I went to buy the one I now own. I met the owner/doctor in the parking lot of the hospital. He pitched me the keys and said "Take off." I asked if he wanted to come but said he had patients to attend to ....
After the test drive I went back to his office and made the deal.
 
I first drove an NSX about 2 months ago, it was from a dealership, so I had to have a salesman as my passenger. It was very annoying listening to him. Some words of wisdom included the fact that I didn't need to worry about the lack of service records, because no service other than oil changes was ever needed really. "It's literally just a souped up Accord engine".

The car I ended up buying, I didn't drive until I had paid, so my first drive was the drive home.
 
Just drove my first a few weeks ago. Traded a fellow prime member a disused laptop I had for his time.

Traffic was heavy so I didn't get to really open it up too much - but even at low speeds the handling is something special.
 
my first experience left me not wanting one because it was so cramped inside... headroom-wise and footroom-wise. while it had a strong smooth pull, it lacked real speed. engine sounded nice, though. handles great, except for that stupid traction control kicking in and trying to kill you.

i was content not getting one for many years, but i absolutely love it now.. granted it was the right move because trying to fit in this thing comfortably with a helmet has proven impossible. i only hit the track once in a long while now, where i used to go to the track on a weekly basis.
 
This is a story I actually love sharing, and recently shared it with some co-workers for the first time in a long time.

Ever since I was in high school ('91-'94) I had a strong love for the NSX. It was the summer of 1998 and I was working in Las Colinas, TX. Everyday to and front work, I would take a long stretch of NW Hwy/Loop12 and I would say to myself everyday "If I had an NSX, I would punch it right here until I hit the exit". And as I drove, everyday, in my brand new Acura Integra GSR, I would punch it right there on that very strip.

One night I was on my way home which took me through downtown Las Colinas, before it met up with NW Hwy. I was sitting at a light and a red NSX perpendicular to me pulled out, heading the same direction as the light turned green for me. :eek: I didn't ride the guy (not yet :tongue: ) but I could tell he had some aftermarket work done. I pulled next to him (or tried) as we hit NW Hwy, again heading the same direction, and he floored it. I caught up to him seconds later (after he slowed down :wink: )

I motioned for him to roll his window down and he did. I told him I was trying to come up with a design for the "next" NSX and if he had a second, could I ask him a few questions. He agreed and we both pulled into a Waffle House. We both got out and I pulled out my drawings...we looked at them and he answered a few questions.. then he started asking me about my car and how he almost bought one himself because of how cool the GSR was. I had no intentions of asking for a ride in his car or anything.. but then he asked me, "Have you ever driven an NSX before?" I said that I had not. He then held his hand up, keys dangling, waiting for me to put my hand out to catch them. So of course I did :cool:

This was it, this was my moment..finally, and no one would ever believe me. Was I dreaming or what?!! I had studied everything about the cars, outside and inside, I just knew the NSX like the back of my hand. As I looked around the interior, the owner of the vehicle was talking to me about ramps or something. So with my in depth familiarity with the NSX, I went to turn on the headlights.... except I hit the wipers instead :redface: Seconds later the engine was humming behind me as I went to pull out of the Waffle House. As I turned I heard a "ccrrrrrrrrrtttt" :frown: OOppps.. ahhh.. "ramps" it made sense now.. watch out for the ground clearance, take ramps at an angle... got it. LOL :biggrin:

I took a left, and then another left at the light that was almost immediate. But the next light was red and there we sat... and guess what... we were on that SAME STRETCH OF ROAD THAT EVERYDAY I said if I had an NSX....

To add to it, no lie, a green Mitsu 3k VR4 pulled up next to us and revved us at the light. Now,....this was not my NSX and I was not about to walk some dude in someone elses car. So the light turned green and I eased into it.. the VR-4 started messing with us... the owner of the NSX looked at me and asked this exact question: "What are you waiting for? Punch it" And so I did just that... no sound has ever hit my ears as sweet as the sound of that NSX engine with headers/exhaust right behind my body as we walked the VR-4 (it let off pretty quickly into it).

So my first drive in the NSX was literally a dream come true, given the conditions that I had imagined everyday to and from work. I never forgot that day, and I was equally as fortunate with another NSX owner a few years later when I moved to Michigan. Just recently I sent the guy from Las Colinas an email, reminding him of that day and how I have never forgotten, and how this is finally my year (I never forgot his name... why would I?).


Below was his response:

Jhae,

You made my day! Thanks for your kind words.

Last week, one of my co-workers let me drive his Porsche Carrera 4s and I think he may be letting me take his Ferrari 360 for a spin. I suppose when in comes down to it, there is just something special about cars that makes me smile. I no longer have my NSX, but I still think about it on beautiful days. I’m glad I did not wait to buy it. I’m 42 now, and I still consider myself lucky for doing it when I did.

I remember meeting you and being impressed by your demeanor. I think great people just have a way of carrying themselves. I have every confidence in you getting your own! Best wishes.
 
The first time I drove one was in the original Need for Speed on the Panasonic 3DO game console in around '94 or '95. I could handily beat just about any other car in the mountain stage. The city? Forget it.:frown: My first REAL experience was incredible. In '03 I got to drive both an '03 and the owner of the dealership's '91. Both were awesome, but you can definitely tell the diff. between them. At the time, I was biased b/c the owner of the dealership just let me take it around the block and putter. They had a lease special going on with the new ones at the time, so the salesman was eager to take me out in the '03 even though it was out of my $ range. He drove out to an area with a nice little stretch of road with little traffic and we switched seats. He allowed me to flex it's muscles a little and that was all it took! I'd never had an experience like this in a car before. The combo of having the targa off, the sunny spring day and the engine note left me with a feeling that I knew that I would have to experience time and again. The Rush song "Red Barchetta" came to mind when I would think back to that day. And after passing on four '91's, I finally found the one I was looking for two years ago; happy ever since!:biggrin:

The first Need For Speed was arguably the best one..(maybe because it was the only NFS to ever have an NSX). If I recall correctly, the cars were Porsche Carrera (teal blue), Toyota Supra Turbo (red), Mazda RX7 (i think yellowish, cant remember), Acura NSX (silver), Ferrari 512 TR (red), Lamborghini Diablo (black) It was so difficult to lose the police in the NSX unless you flew by them already going 120mph lol. :biggrin:
 
I was lucky, in my youth, to have a gearhead for a dad. He had a DeTomaso Pantera that he took around to track events and every now and then I'd see an NSX. Honestly, while I thought they were neat, the Ferrari Testarossa was my pie-in-the-sky until I was probably 15 or so and a red '86.5 TR ended up in the garage along side the venerable Pantera. I still think they are beautiful, but driving one was less than I'd imagined (never meet your heros?).

However, having grown up around them, I was still on a mid-engined kick when I got my first car, an MR2 Turbo, and started paying more attention to Japanese sports cars, and the NSX in particular. Many rounds of Gran Turismo 1,2,3, and 4 later, and I'd made it through college and was in a position to start thinking about buying a toy.

I didn't want to just go and joy-ride a private owner in case I didn't like the cars, did fit, couldn't see out, etc., so I had to wait until I found a Black NA2 at a used car lot north of Atlanta. Funny in hindsight, I was so nervous about a 24 year-old getting rejected for a test drive (even though I'd called ahead) that I tossed on a collared shirt and washed my MR2 before I drove down. The manager of the lot was pretty chill, however, and just made the normal license/insurance check and tossed me the keys.

I took it easy and drove out into the Marietta 'burbs for a ways and then noted a side road with wide shoulders and a twisty-road sign.... ~5 minutes later and I was pretty sold on the car. It took me another year and a half to find my eventual car, but it's been worth the wait and subsequent work.
 
I too dreamed of one from the first time I laid eyes on a picture of one...I couldn't get the car out of my mind.

Fast forward a few years to 2000, I had been bitten by the Ferrari bug and had an '81 308 GTSi. A friend mentioned wanting to "check out" a Brookland Green '94 NSX at a stealership in my city and asked if I wanted to go along...we took the 308.

At the car lot, we pulled up in the Ferrari, got out, and had a salesman on us like stink on you-know-what. We informed the salesman of my buddy's interest in the NSX. Without even asking for driver's licenses, the salesman grabbed the passenger seat and let my friend take off in the car. Upon their return, with my buddy acting wishy-washy, the salesman asked if I had any interest in the car and would I trade my Ferrari in (THAT wasn't happening!), but I took him up on his offer to go for a spin in the NSX for giggles.

I was awestruck.

It felt a lot like the 308, yet more refined and smoother.

After we returned, and since the salesman asked so many questions about how the Ferrari compared, I offered to take him for a spin in the 308; he jumped at the chance.

As we got back and were standing in the lot talking about the NSX, a dilapidated, rusted '80's Caprice pulled up. The guy & girl, who saw us pull back in and then over heard our discussion, asked if they could take the NSX for a test drive...as they were interested in it too. The salesman informed them that he would need their driver's license, up-to-date insurance, and a completed and APPROVED credit application from the finance department before they could test drive it!

After we left, we decided to totally abuse our "Ferrari privilege". We headed over to a Chevy dealer to go joy-riding some Corvettes out of sheer boredom.

:D

"Membership has it's rewards."

A couple of years later, due to my Ferrari being in the body shop for some minor repairs, my insurance informed me that I was entitled to a "comparable car" as my rental...at their expense. They rented me an NSX for a week on their nickle...at $300 per day. That sealed the deal for me...I HAD to own one.

.
 
I was actually 16 years old when i first drove the NSX. My dad was building a moat for a guy's reading area in his yard and saw the car and asked him about it. I had never heard of an NSX, because I was allllllll about american cars and displacement.

This is where it gets funny. My other neighbor was selling an unfinished LS1 RX-7 swap that he had started but it was still in pieces. At the time I was driving a 99 trans am, so I was in love with the LS1. My dad told me that he would buy me either the NSX or the Rx7 if I made all A's and sold my trans am for $13k. So, i busted butt and sold the T/A and made all A's in school and the time came to decide. I went to the guys house and he told me to take the car and drive it for a few days. I drove it and hated it. It was slow and the car felt too long. I had a hard time getting into it. I didn't like the forum (sorry guys, I didn't like you at first). so, I chose the Rx-7 because I was young and just wanted to go fast. I thought the NSX was too slow and I didn't care about anything but straight lines.

6 years later. i drove it and fell in love... the steering was perfect, the car was amazing in every way... I sold my life and everything and bought it...

other than high insurance, i love it still
 
The first Need For Speed was arguably the best one..(maybe because it was the only NFS to ever have an NSX). If I recall correctly, the cars were Porsche Carrera (teal blue), Toyota Supra Turbo (red), Mazda RX7 (i think yellowish, cant remember), Acura NSX (silver), Ferrari 512 TR (red), Lamborghini Diablo (black) It was so difficult to lose the police in the NSX unless you flew by them already going 120mph lol. :biggrin:
You got 'em all except for the bright blue Viper and the dark green ZR-1. Nice memory!:biggrin: My favorite part was when the live action guy would appear & put you down after a horrible run; always hilarous. One of my roomates went so far as to take the pass. seat out of his 280Z for us to have a more "realistic" experience. Man I miss college sometimes.:frown: Sorry this got off topic, more stories please!
 
You got 'em all except for the bright blue Viper and the dark green ZR-1. Nice memory!:biggrin: My favorite part was when the live action guy would appear & put you down after a horrible run; always hilarous. One of my roomates went so far as to take the pass. seat out of his 280Z for us to have a more "realistic" experience. Man I miss college sometimes.:frown: Sorry this got off topic, more stories please!

ohhh yeah.. thanks for that. The ZR1 and Viper. I thought I was missing out but could not remember..
 
It was lust at first sight at the 1991 State fair auto pavilion. It was Red/Ivory. Now 20 years later, I saw my 91 Red/Ivory NSX in the original owner's garage. I drove it a few miles and was so buzzed like I was on some drug. Then I took the 2,400 mile drive home with my 14 year old son as navigator (Map..no GPS). N.Carolina to Cleveland ,OH to San Antonio, TX. We both had the coolest adventure ever.
 
I was 19 and dating a girl for awhile I really liked in the city. I was nervous about meeting her parents we were hanging out in front of her building on a summer day. a red ACURA NSX pulls up to her building I was like wow :eek:.
The gentleman gets out the car and my girlfriend greats him with a kiss and a hug "HI DADDY" she introduced me. So he takes a look at me and say's " you know how to drive stick kid ? " I replied "yes" he tossed the keys to his NSX @ me and say's " Good you can park my car then " :eek::smile:
so she jumps in with me and we parked in his private spot a few building away. What can I say that it's left a lasting impression on me to this day. :cool:
 
... left me with a feeling that I knew that I would have to experience time and again. The Rush song "Red Barchetta" came to mind when I would think back to that day.


Funny that, I test drove a NSX and then a brand new NISMO 370Z, which was just a bit more money but a new car. All I could think of was how much more special the NSX had felt, the NISMO was... just a car. "Red Barchetta" kept running thru my head and my mind was made up. Best decision I ever made.
 
It was lust at first sight at the 1991 State fair auto pavilion. It was Red/Ivory. Now 20 years later, I saw my 91 Red/Ivory NSX in the original owner's garage. I drove it a few miles and was so buzzed like I was on some drug. Then I took the 2,400 mile drive home with my 14 year old son as navigator (Map..no GPS). N.Carolina to Cleveland ,OH to San Antonio, TX. We both had the coolest adventure ever.

That's a great story...

I have pondered on whether or not I want to take my wife, my son, or just go by myself to pick my NSX up this late summer. My wife is sure she is going... my step-son has no idea he is even being considered (would be a good bonding trip), but then would either of them begin to understand how big of a deal it will be for me? A big part of me wants to load up the iPhone (assuming the NSX has a dock) and jam my way across the country by myself.
 
The first time I drove one was in the original Need for Speed on the Panasonic 3DO game console in around '94 or '95. I could handily beat just about any other car in the mountain stage. The city? Forget it.:frown: My first REAL experience was incredible. In '03 I got to drive both an '03 and the owner of the dealership's '91. Both were awesome, but you can definitely tell the diff. between them. At the time, I was biased b/c the owner of the dealership just let me take it around the block and putter. They had a lease special going on with the new ones at the time, so the salesman was eager to take me out in the '03 even though it was out of my $ range. He drove out to an area with a nice little stretch of road with little traffic and we switched seats. He allowed me to flex it's muscles a little and that was all it took! I'd never had an experience like this in a car before. The combo of having the targa off, the sunny spring day and the engine note left me with a feeling that I knew that I would have to experience time and again. The Rush song "Red Barchetta" came to mind when I would think back to that day. And after passing on four '91's, I finally found the one I was looking for two years ago; happy ever since!:biggrin:


I still have the original Need For Speed. I just can't figure out how to get it to play on the new computers. It is Windows 95 based but still starts in DOS.:mad:
 
I was on business in Oregon and saw one for sale. Took it for a test drive, did the paperwork and the drove it for 14hours down the coast to the Bay Area in CA. It was my bonding experience. =)
 
In 1989 I was offered the chance to drive a pre-production copy of the NSX that was in the country for warm-weather testing in the Mojave Desert (among other places).
I was given the opportunity by Bose Corporation because they were producing the sound system for the car. At the time I was writing an internationally syndicated newspaper column covering the consumer electronics industry (“Home Entertainment”) and had a good friend high up at Bose.

Since I was a long-time gear head (was racing Sports 2000 cars at the time) and had on several occasions told my Bose friend how impressed I was with the news coming out of Japan on the prototype NS-X, he took pity on me and made it happen.

I had the car (a silver/blk one) for three days and happily drove the wheels off it, including a trip to Sears Point Raceway. I wrote a glowing article about the experience (and the Bose sound system) that ran across the globe.

In those days I always kept a little spiral notebook in my pocket on test drives and made notes about my likes and dislikes – usually filling several pages.
I just looked up my notebook from that test drive. I only made three notes:
1. The trunk got kinda warm, clothes might come out wrinkled.
2. Under certain circumstances there was an anoying reflection of the main instrument cluster.
3. The lighted dash controls couldn’t be seen under all lighting conditions.
There was no need to comment on the pluses – they were legion. I'd never driven a car that fit me so well -- or one so perfectly balanced and powered.

I tried to buy that car thinking I could get a deal since it had been flogged by several testers/writers like me, but was told the car was not federalized and would need to go back to Japan to be crushed.

The first ones that went on sale here the following year were sold for $30K over list – too rich for my blood, but I was patient, and in 1993 bought a used one from a doctor that need to bail on a silver/blk one to pay for his soon-to-arrive 348.

The rest, as they say, is history.
 
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I was 2007 flying to AZ to check out and test drive my first NSX. 1 hour later I had pink slip in hand driving 16 hours back home. The good news is that the price I paid in 2007 is still with in the today's current market price.
 
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