Acura to retire and replace NSX sportscar

(Photo: Honda Canada)

The passing of the Acura NSX model from Honda Canada's list of offerings this fall should be observed by lovers of serious sportscars everywhere since the mid-engined two-seater changed the game for that segment.

But what should really excite them is the corporate pledge from Acura that the company is "committed to having an ultra high-performance vehicle in the Acura lineup in the future" and that the vehicle that will replace the NSX "promises to be just as groundbreaking as the original 1991 NSX."

In Canada, the executive vice-president of Honda Canada got to mouth those portentous words, but Jim Miller and his colleagues in other Honda companies around the world would not have been able to say them without the express written consent of Japan.

(Photo: Honda Canada)

This is important because, when you consider the impact of the NSX when it arrived about 15 years ago, that's quite a promise. At the time, the NSX changed the dynamics of the market by showing that a true sportscar did not have to be as uncomfortable, unreliable or unstable as many of the really hot cars of the time (but especially the Porsche 911, and particularly the 911 Turbo) were.

Miller points out that NSX was designed "as a technological and performance showcase," and it certainly was that, since it helped Honda's upscale brand gain fresh attention and respect from premium car buyers.

(Photo: Honda Canada)

"NSX was the first production car to utilize titanium connecting rods and feature an all-aluminum body, chassis and suspension," Miller says. "It featured a transversely mounted dual overhead cam V-6 equipped with Acura's breakthrough Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control (VTEC) system, titanium connecting rods and a variable volume induction system."

Over time, says Miller, "the NSX received continuous updates to ensure its competitiveness and popularity with sports car enthusiasts," and that's certainly true. But it quickly lost its unique position in the sportscar segment as all the companies competing there soon enough upgraded their products to match or supersede it, sometimes for less money.

(Photo: Honda Canada)

The current model is going away this fall, Miller says, "due to the extensive retooling necessary to meet stringent 2006 emissions and equipment regulations for North America, Europe and Asia."

The NSX was extremely well received by the automotive media in North America (including me), who used its civilized nature as proof that a serious sportscar did not have to be as generally unpleasant as a Porsche 911 was at the time.

NSX managed to accumulate a number of media accolades, including Automobile Magazine's "Automobile of the Year and Design of the Year" awards, Popular Science's "Best of What's New," Road &Track's "Ten Best Cars in the World" list. Motor Trend magazine also named the NSX to its "Top Ten Performance Cars" list and touted it as "the best sports car ever built."

(Photo: Honda Canada)

Compared to 911s and Corvettes and even Ferraris, the NSX is an extremely low-volume model around the world (less than 19,000 have been sold globally) and it's unlikely that many Canadians have had a chance to drive one.

But anyone who's been in a sportscar of any kind in the last 15 years owes the NSX at least a nod of acknowledgement for the improvements it helped bring to the auto industry.
photo:Honda Canada