Honda NSX (Japan, 1992-2006)

The NSX was a sports car from Japanese automaker Honda and it was produced between 1990 and 2005. The model was equipped with a mid mounted all-aluminium V6 petrol engine that featured Honda's Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control (VTEC) system.

The NSX is regarded as one of the most reliable exotic car ever manufactured as many owners claim to have exceed 100,000 miles (160,000 km) without serious reliability issues.

The history of the NSX begins in 1984 when Honda requested the Italian car designer Pininfarina to design the HP-X, Honda Pininfarina Xperimental. Certain that the car was at the level of the best Italian and German cars, Honda decided to develop the car further and so it evolved into the NS-X prototype, New Sportscar eXperimental.

Honda's goal was to reach the performance level of the Ferrari 328 but much cheaper. The body design was inspired after extensive research on the 360 degree visibility inside a F-16 fighter jet cockpit. Many of the technologies found in this model were derived from Honda's F1 motorsports program.

During its development, the NS-X was tested and reviewed by Japanese F1 driver Satoru Nakajima and brazilian F1 World Champion Ayrton Senna. Both drivers tested the car at the Suzuka race circuit and offered advice on how to improve it.

The production version of the NS-X was first introduced at the Chicago Auto Show in February 1989 and at the Tokyo Motor Show in October 1989 with positive reviews. The car was especially appreciated for its low height, lines and pronounced cockpit. Before the car was officially launched into the market in 1990, Honda decided to change the name of the car from NS-X to NSX.

In 1991 the NSX began being marketed in North America and Hong Kong under Honda's luxury division Acura.

In 1997 the engine displacement was increased from 3.0l to 3.2l which ultimately increased power from 274 hp to 294 hp. One other improvement was the adoption of a 6-speed manual transmission instead of the 4-speed automatic transmission used before.

A number of variants were produced, these included performance, limited editions and motorsports specific versions.

No major design changes were ever performed in the NSX during its production years apart from replacing the original pop-up headlamps.

With only a few hundred units sold per year, Honda decided that continuing the production of the NSX was no longer economically viable as the cost of manufacturing this car was extremely high. So in July 2005 the automaker officially announced that production would cease and in 2006 the last NSX was sold in the US, originally intended for Honda's museum.

Honda's NSX was awarded the 1991 Car of the Year prize by Wheels magazine Australia. On the same year the Acura-badged car was considered Automobile of the Year by Automobile Magazine.