An NSX just sold at a Japanese auction for
$445,000 dollars. 10 years ago you could get an NSX for less
than 30,000 dollars. So how did a Honda sports car go from fighting
Ferrari's for half the money to costing twice as much as a brand new Ferrari, all in just
20 years? Let’s talk about that. The NSX Story starts in 1984. Honda, coming off of success with their compact
cars, wanted to build a new sports car. So they started experimenting with different
layouts. One of their experiments involved taking a
Honda City, chopping it in half and putting the FWD drivetrain in the rear. The engineers drove this franken-honda around
the factory’s parking lot, and they absolutely LOVED IT! It was a little underpowered, with the Honda
City’s 1.2L 60hp motor barely enough to propel it, but it was good enough for the
bosses at Honda to okay the next step. So Honda commissioned Pininfarina, yes the
Ferrari Pininfarina, to make the Honda HPX, the Honda-Pininfarina-eXperimental, which
was a futuristic mid engined supercar with Honda’s C20A 2.0L V6 powering the rear wheels. The HPX was pretty well received, so Honda’s
engineers got the go ahead to develop their Supercar concept. The only stipulation was to make sure this
new Honda would beat anything coming out of Germany, and more importantly, Italy. So over the next 5 years, Honda worked on
this new supercar project, now dubbed the NSX, or the New-Sportscar-eXperimental. But it wasn’t without its challenges. The first trouble was with the chassis. Honda needed something light and strong, so
the first thing that came to mind was Aluminum. Honda had no experience with aluminum chassis
work, but this was the New Sportscar “EXPERIMENTAL”, so they took to the labs and started the mad
scientist work. It wasn’t easy though, and at a few points
they were ready to give up and go back to steel. But eventually they figured it out, and created
the first Aluminum Extruded semi-monocoque chassis ever used in a production vehicle. This new chassis saved an estimated 200lbs
over a steel equivalent, so it was well worth the trouble. But despite all the weight savings, Honda
still had a power problem. The 143hp C20A V6 that they initially planned
to use was definitely not going to cut it when put up against the Ferrari 348’s 3.4L
DOHC V8. So Honda’s engineers went to work trying
all sorts of different engine options, and exhausting pretty much every V6 Honda had
in its lineup, before landing on a 3.0L DOHC V6 making about 240ish hp. But while the NSX’s engine development was
happening, another team at Honda was working on another sports car, the Integra. The Integra team had developed a crazy new
cam profile technology that would let their NA motors really open up in the top end. That technology was Honda’s Variable Valve
Timing and Lift Electronic Control System, aka VTEC. The President of Honda, Tadashi Kume, figured
if the NSX was Honda pulling out all the stops, then they would have to incorporate the VTEC
technology into the 3 liter V6 they were developing. So at the very last minute, they redesigned
the heads on the NSX’s V6, along with new 6-bolt mains and titanium connecting rods,
which resulted in a 8300 RPM redline, making 270hp and 210 lbft of torque. A solid improvement over the standard 3 liter. And with those ingredients done, the NSX was nearly
ready. All that was left was to test it, so Honda
got the best of the best, F1 World Champion Ayrton Senna. Senna spent a solid amount of time testing
the NSX, and his feedback was often that the NSX had too much flex in the chassis, and
that it needed to be stiffened before production. So Honda listened, and their mission to stiffen
the NSX’s chassis was so involved, that while testing at the Nurburgring, Honda engineers
would write down wherever their test drivers would say the chassis needed more stiffness,
and send that information back to Honda HQ in Japan, The home engineers would punch in that data
into a Cray Supercomputer at their facility, which would then interpret the data and modify
the design of the aluminum monocoque in order to stiffen up the chassis in exactly the right
places. All this resulted in the NSX being nearly
50% stiffer, all without much of a weight penalty. And with that, the NSX was ready. Honda showed the NSX Production prototype
at the Chicago Auto show In 1989, and then in early 1990, the NSX went on sale in Japan,
followed by the USA later that year, under the higher-end Acura brand. And people LOVED it. Car and Driver pitted it against the Corvette
ZR1, Porsche 911 Carrera 4, Ferrari 348ts, and the Lotus Espirit Turbo, and it beat all
of them. They even called it "the first mid-engine
supercar that doesn't act like a parole violator." It was a dream to drive, supremely connected
and raw, all while still being accessible and predictable. Honda had done it, they had taken on the likes
of Ferrari and beat them at their own game. But for Honda, the journey was far from over. The NSX was good, but the engineers wanted
something even more hardcore. Something without the concessions of comfortable
suspension, and NVH concerns. And so in 1992, Honda released the NSX-R. The NSX-R was Honda’s vision of the Ultimate
NSX, one with no compromises. Weight was cut by an insane 265lbs, thanks
to the removal of sound deadening, the sound system, air conditioning, and even the traction
control system. It also had forged aluminum wheels and an
iconic titanium shift knob. One of the biggest complaints of the standard
NSX was that it could have somewhat unpredictable oversteer when the suspension was loaded up,
so to solve that, Honda’s engineers basically stiffened up every single component in the
NSX’s suspension. They also swapped the Spring Bias, making
the rear dampers softer than the fronts, which helped stabilize the car, especially at higher
speeds. Overall, this was a massive improvement over
the standard car, and it was very loved by racing enthusiasts, with this version even
being a favorite of Ayrton Senna himself. Over the course of 3 years, Honda made 483
of these NSX-Rs, all for the Japanese market. By contrast, in the US, the NSX was getting
a totally different sort of treatment. In 1995, Honda released the NSX-T, that’s
T for Targa not for Turbo. This was a targa top version of the NSX, just
like the Corvette, Supra, and 300zx that were selling alongside the NSX in the US. This version of the car weighed 100lbs MORE
than the standard fixed roof car, thanks to the added bracing to make up for the lack
of a roof, and despite all that it still wasn’t as stiff. They also had softer springs and a smaller
front sway bar. So, overall, a much less hardcore car. Softer-edged, and less sporty. And despite the fact it was pretty much the
opposite of the NSX’s initial vision, the NSX-T was insanely popular. So popular in fact, that it went from being
a special order option, to being the standard NSX for sale in the US. Now, don’t let the popularity of the NSX-T
fool you, Honda still had razor sharp focus when it came to the NSX, and they made that
known in the place where it mattered most. Motorsports. Honda entered the 24 hours of Le Man in 1994,
and it was an okay debut, but the real magic was a year later in 1995; where Honda entered
a GT2 Class NSX piloted by none other than Keiichi Tsuchiya, the drift king. He, along with Akira Ida and Kunimitsu Takahashi,
took the NSX to a GT2 Class win and 8th place overall. It was such a big win for them, that they
made sure that this very NSX GT2 was featured in the then new Gran Turismo video game. In 1997, Honda took what they learned in racing
and gave the NSX its first big revision. This included a new 3.2L C32A V6 making 290hp,
paired to a new 6-speed manual transmission. And a new aluminum alloy in the body that
was 50% stiffer than the previous aluminum. This was a welcome improvement to the NSX,
especially considering that many of its competitors were now using turbos to make for significantly
more horsepower and torque than the previous 3.0L NSX could muster. In usual Japanese fashion, special edition
JDM-only models were released with the NSX-Type S and Type-S Zero. These were similar to the NSX-R, in that they
were lightened, stiffened, and more focused version of the NSX, with the S-Zero being
the most hardcore model of the bunch. The Type-S was even more limited than the
Type-R though, with only 209 Type-S models and 30 Type-S Zero models being produced in
the 4 years it was on sale. Now, I know us Americans had been building
a bad rap with our craze for the soft and bloated NSX-T, but in in 1999, we finally
got a little taste of the hardcore NSX experience with the Alex Zanardi Edition. This special, 51-unit run of the NSX was made
to celebrate Alex Zanardi’s back to back IndyCar wins in 97 and 98. The car itself was essentially a Type-S but
with some nice leather seats and special badging. The number 1 car was given to Alex Zanardi
himself. But, in a tragic turn of events, Alex Zanardi
was in a horrific crash at the Lausitzring in 2001 and lost both of his legs in the accident. Zanardi was lucky enough to survive, and after
a long recovery, was able to live his life again, now with prosthetic legs. After his rehabilitation, Honda apparently
took Zanardi’s NSX and modified it to use hand controls, so that he could continue to
enjoy the car that bore his name, no matter the loss that he faced. This really showed how dedicated Honda was
to NSX enthusiasts, but passion doesn’t necessarily sell cars, and Honda needed to
freshen up the NSX to survive in an already dwindling sports car market. So in 2002, Honda gave the NSX a proper refresh
and gave us the NA2. The NA2 took the NSXs styling 20 years forward
into the present. Gone were the pop up headlights, and in their
place were fixed HID headlights. Along with that came updated front and rear
bumpers, as well as new side skirts that gave the car a lower look. Mechanically, the suspension was revised with
stiffer springs and larger sway bars. But otherwise the drivetrain was unchanged
from the 97 revisions. Along with the base NA2 in Japan came the
familiar Type-S, but to commemorate this revised body style, Honda dropped the Type-S Zero
and brought back the NSX-R. This got the classic Type-R treatment; 220lb
in weight savings thanks to a lot of carbon fiber, a fully blueprinted and handbuilt engine,
and track-oriented suspension. And despite the bones of the NSX being 15
years old at this point, the revised NSX-R went around the Nurburgring Nordschleife in
7 minutes and 56 seconds. That’s the same time as the Ferrari 360
Challenge Stradale, which even had 100hp more than the NSX. And it wasn’t just the Nurburgring that
the NSX was dominating. Honda had entered the NSX-GT in Super GT,
where it had been winning since 1997. And when I say winning, I mean it. The NSX-GT became one of the most winningest
cars in the series over the 10 years it participated, with 36 race wins, 2 team championships, and
3 driver’s championships. And, as you guys must know by now, where there’s
racing, there’s homologation specials. So, in 2005 Honda created a 5-car production
run of the NSX-R GT. This was basically a NSX-R but with all of
the Super GT goodies, like a widebody and race-oriented suspension. Oh and a giant intake snorkel on the roof
of the car. Which was actually not functional for the
road-going versions, unlike the Super GT cars which used that as a functional intake. 4 of these NSX-R GTs went to Honda, and 1,
yes just 1, was sold to the public. That lucky buyer was Yoshiaki Yoshida, the
president of Japanese cosmetics company DHC Corp, who was also an avid NSX enthusiast. As far as I know, Yoshida still owns that
1 of 1 NSX to this day. And with the NSX-R GT as its final swan song,
Honda announced in August of 2005 that the NSX was to cease production. Over the course of 15 years Honda had made
18,685 of these amazing machines. And despite the world fawning over them, and
showering them with accolades, the NSX died alongside its other JDM sports car brethren,
thanks to the usual reasons of emissions and profitability. John Mendel, the then VP of Acura, mentioned
that another high-performance sports car was in the works, but it wouldn’t be until 11
years later in 2016, that Honda would bring us the second generation NC1 NSX. This second gen car was designed and built
at Honda’s Performance Center in Ohio. Yes, this time around, the NSX was largely
American. And, well, response to the second generation
was mixed at best. It was a technological showcase, with 3 hybrid
motors paired alongside a twin turbo V6, driving all 4 wheels thru a 9-speed DCT automatic
transmission. And it was fast too! Rocketing to 60 miles an hour in 2.7 seconds,
and lapping the Nurburgring in just 7 minutes and 36 seconds. But despite all of that, it just didn’t
seem to have the magic of the first generation NSX. Keiichi Tsuchiya, one of the most ardent NSX
fans, called the second gen “hard to drive” and “more for american tastes”. He went so far as to ask if it even was an
NSX at all? And he wasn’t the only one. All this plus the astronomical starting price
of $156,000, resulted in the NSX having very poor sales for the 4 years it's been with
us. Last year they sold 128 of them, for the whole
year! That’s it! And many speculate that the failure of the
NC1 was responsible for today’s insane pricing of the NA1 and NA2 NSXs, but well, they’re
only half-right. After the NSX went out of production in the
mid-2000s, you could buy a used NA1 NSX for the mid to high 30’s. With some higher mileage cars trading hands
in the mid 20,000 dollar range. And it stayed that way for a long while. That is, until about 2015, which if you’ve
seen the Supra and Skyline prices videos, you’ll know that was a big turning point
for JDM collector cars. In July of 2015, a 23,000 mile 1992 NA1 NSX
sold on BringATrailer for $49,000. This wasn’t a massive leap, but it was enough
to get NSX owners thinking about selling, and more than enough to get collectors foaming
at the mouth. But for those that needed an extra push, well,
In November of that year, a 33k mile 1994 NSX sold for $65,500. Now, that number got everyone’s attention
because it meant that the NSX was finally selling for even more than its original MSRP. And so in 2016, the floodgates were opened. In February, a 15,000 mile car sold for 80,000
dollars, followed later in the year by another for 77,000 dollars, one for 69,000 dollars,
and then another for 70,000 dollars. But it wasn’t just the concours ready cars
that were fetching big money. Over a dozen higher mileage NSXs were sold
that year for prices ranging from the mid 40’s up to 60,000 dollars This trend continued in 2017 and 2018, with
many clean examples selling in the 80,000 dollar range. And then in April of 2019, the NSX officially
broke the 100,000 dollar mark. A 1994 Brooklands Green NSX with 187 miles,
yes just 187, sold for $151,000 on Bring A Trailer and set a new precedent for what an
NSX could be worth. This thing was an absolute time capsule, having
been stored in a climate controlled garage since delivery and it was never even registered
until 2018. So it made sense that it would fetch the price
that it did. But all the while in Japan, something was
brewing that had plans to put even this museum piece to shame. At the Tokyo BH Auctions, a seller surprised
the world with a pair of NSX-Rs. The first was a 1995 NA1 NSX-R, with 860km
on the odometer, that’s just 534 miles. The second, and perhaps more enticing of the
pair, was a 2005 NA2 NSX-R, this one with only 560km, that’s 348 miles. Nobody knew what these cars would fetch, but
one thing was certain, these would be the biggest NSX sales in the history of the car. Both cars went on the auction block June 8th,
with the NA1 selling first for 30.8 million yen, or $283,000 dollars. This was a new record for the NSX, by a mile,
but it held that record for all of five minutes, because the NA2’s auction hammered soon
after, for 48.4 million yen. Or 445,000 US dollars. Yes, nearly half a million dollars. For a 15 year old Honda. Needless to say, that record wasn’t going
to be broken again anytime soon, and so far it hasn’t been. But in that same year 4 more US NSXs ended
up selling for over 100,000 dollars. 3 of them were like that Green museum piece,
with under 3000 miles on any of them. But one had 38,000 miles, and was driven like
it should have been. This was a bit of a change, as almost every
high dollar NSX was basically undriven. So why did it sell for so much? Well, it was a Zanardi Edition. If you remember, the Zanardi was a special
51-car run that was the most hardcore NSX we got in the US. And this was the first big public sale of
one, so the buyers certainly showed up. This was #44 of 51, and hammered for a price
of $126,000. 5 months later, the #43 Zanardi also came
up for auction, this one with 57,000 miles, and it sold for $135,000. But these were all just small fish compared
to what was coming next. In September of 2020, the last and final Zanardi
Edition, #51, was put up for auction by its original owner, AMA Superbike Champion Miguel
Duhamel. This car was personally gifted to him by Honda,
after he won the opening Daytona 200 races on a Honda bike, while racing with a broken
leg. Duhamel had driven the car just 12,000 miles
in the near 20 years that he owned it, and it was immaculate. Now considering what previous Zanardi NSXs
were going for, and that this car had a real place in NSX history, one would expect this
car to sell for around 150,000 dollars. Maybe even 180,000 dollars. Well, when the auction was opened, bidders
decided to throw that out the window and keep bidding and bidding and bidding up, until
it finally hammered at the monumental price of $277,017 dollars. This doubled the value of the previous Zanardi
NSX and became the most expensive NSX sold in the United States. Today, in 2021, the average price of an NSX
in the US lands somewhere in the 70,000 dollar range, far out of reach for the average JDM
enthusiast. And even though no car has even come close
to matching the 445,000 dollars of that NSX-R in Japan, it won’t be long before we see
another NSX-R, Zanardi, or perhaps even that 1 of 1 NSX-R GT catch the eye of some collector
somewhere, and take NSX prices even further into the unattainable. Thanks for watching guys! And if you’ve made it all the way through
the video then I’ve got something special for you. Instead of ending on the sad note that we’re
all broke and can never own this car, I went and looked for well-priced NSX’s so that
maybe, just maybe, one of us can experience the magnificence of Honda’s supercar. The first up is a 1995 NSX-T with a 5-speed
and 147,000 miles listed for $50,000. Now that might not seem like a screaming deal
for the mileage, but keep in mind that this is a Brooklands Green car so it is 1 of just
61 in the US. The second NSX is a 1993 5-speed manual Coupe,
black on black, with 121,000 miles. This one is listed for $57,900. Its got a freshly rebuilt engine and plenty
of maintenance records. Def a solid NSX that you can enjoy driving. The last NSX is a wild card for the cheapskates
out there. It’s a 1992 Automatic Coupe, well, at least,
it used to be a coupe. Until some knucklehead decided to chop the
entire roof off the car and turn it into a convertible. This engineering marvel supposedly has a clean
title with only 45,500 miles and is listed for the low low price of $39,500, making this
the cheapest NSX available for sale today, by a mile. If you’ve recently made 40k off of Dogecoin
and are looking for a place to squander it, I highly recommend this be it. Please drop a comment if you buy one of these
NSXs or if you find a better deal than these. A random subscriber who comments below will
be getting a big box of merch so subscribe to make sure you’re entered and follow us
on Instagram to know when the winner is announced. Bye!
