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Good evening Car fans, this installment of Thibodaux Car and Driver deals with a true super car: the Acura NSX. With a price tag of roughly $90,000, not everyone gets the chance to experience the magic that is the NSX. I will try to convey the magic in words, but there is no substitute for the real thing.
I start with Bill Sanders, entrepreneur and all-around TmO guy, who was nice enough to lend his NSX to make this article. His car is a ’96 J-type NSX. The J-type is separated from the normal NSX by the extra thirty horsepower topping it to 300. This NSX features a 3.0L dohc 24-valve setup with a 5-speed manual transmission. With a 4.10 rear axle ratio and 8,000 rpm fuel shut-off, this vehicle tops out at 185 mph and runs a 14.0 second quarter-mile. The magic of the NSX is not in the straight however, it is in the cornering. The cornering characteristics of this particular car are vaunted to the point of legend. I was unable to truly test the limits as time was limited, but if the amateur experience was any indication of what could be, this car truly is worth getting to know.
The NSX features a variable cam, which prevents lope at low RPM and extends itself to higher lift to support RPM past 6,000. This is an absolutely amazing piece of technology. The only way previously to kill lope with a high lift cam was with roller-rocker cams and tappets. The NSX incorporates these things together to create a perfect smooth engine firing at all rpm. Being a Mid-engine rear-wheel drive vehicle, the intake sits directly in the driver’s left ear. The sound it makes is quite similar to the sound of a big block with its air clear turned upside down. Hopefully most of you know what this sounds like, because it is quite possibly the most beautiful sound to be heard by human ears.
To match all of this power and handling, the NSX brakes like a dream. Huge thirteen inch slotted, vented disc brakes stop 18-inch rims with 35z series tires. The entire construction of the frame and chassis is Titanium alloy and fiberglass. The car weighs in at a massive 2,000 lbs. By any standard, this is an extremely light car.
If you ever have the chance to even sit in an NSX, I suggest you take all the time you can get with it. You feel as though you are the luckiest person on Earth and as though nothing is wrong. If you ever have the opportunity to drive one, for the love of GOD, do not pass it up.
Next article will feature either the ’68 Moore Boys Camaro, or the ’91 C4 corvette econo-box. In the meantime, keep burning off and stay above 4,000 RPM whenever possible.
As always, send in your questions about automobiles in general and if anyone wants to ask about my on-going ’98 GT Mustang project, feel free. |
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Acura NSX |
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automotive review by Justin Moore |
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September 2, 2002 |
