The first generation of the Honda NSX, or Acura NSX as it was known in the US, was never the most popular performance car of its era, but it was more influential than many people might think. The designer of the McLaren F1, Gordon Murray, took heavy inspiration from the NSX, saying in an interview that the moment he drove the Honda, all other benchmark cars “vanished from [his] mind.” The ride quality and handling of the F1 were therefore benchmarked against the NSX, a strategy that no doubt helped McLaren gain a reputation as one of the best drivers’ cars of all time.
The NSX was also a technological triumph, with cutting-edge features including an all-aluminum monocoque chassis, titanium connecting rods, and forged pistons. Its high asking price limited its overall appeal, but it was still relatively commercially successful, with over 18,000 units sold globally. At one point, the NSX’s low resale price on the used market made it a performance bargain, but by the second half of the 2010s, prices were rising rapidly, and have remained high today. In fact, Bloomberg reports, that the value of the NSX was rising so rapidly between 2013 and 2018 that it outperformed the Dow Jones stock market index.
