The Honda NSX, marketed in North America as the Acura NSX, is a two-seater, rear mid-engined, rear-wheel drive sports car manufactured by Honda.
The origins of the NSX trace back to 1984, with the HP-X (Honda Pininfarina eXperimental) concept, for a 3.0 L (180 cu in) V6 rear mid-engine, rear-wheel drive sports car. Honda, with the intention of meeting or exceeding the performance of the then V8 engine Ferrari range, committed to the project, aiming at both reliability and a lower price. The concept evolved and had its name changed to NS-X, which stood for "New", "Sportscar" "eXperimental", although the production model was launched as the NSX.
The NSX was designed by a team led by Chief Designer Masahito Nakano and Executive Chief Engineer Shigeru Uehara. It benefited from advanced aerodynamics and styling inspired by the F-16 fighter jet cockpit as well as input, during the final development stages, from Formula One World Champion Ayrton Senna.
The NSX was the first general production car to feature an all-aluminium semi-monocoque. It was powered by an all-aluminium 3.0 L V6 engine, which featured Honda's VTEC (Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control) system developed in the 1980s, a 5-speed manual transmission, or starting in 1994 the SportShift 4-speed automatic transmission, also known as F-Matic, which allows the option of conventional automatic shifting or manually shifting with a fingertip shift lever on the steering column.
The car was presented at the 1989 Chicago Auto Show. Production started in a purpose-made factory in Japan,[citation needed] for sale from 1990. It was originally available as a coupé, then, from 1995 onwards, as a targa top. It underwent a performance upgrade in 1997, which saw the arrival of a larger 3.2 L V6 engine, and a facelift in 2002 where the pop-up headlights were removed. The first-generation NSX was discontinued in 2005. North American models were sold as the Acura NSX. The rarity is that only less than 20,000 were made making it highly expensive.
Cars with the 3.0 L C30A engine are referred to as NA1 models, while the 3.2 L C32B engine cars are known as NA2 models.
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