2001 Acura NSX-T
Sold
In the early 1990s, the high-end sports car market was beginning to stagnate. Although these days, every manufacturer seems to have a performance coupe offering for those looking to spend $100,000+, in 1990, your choices were essentially a Porsche 964, Ferrari 348, or a Lotus Esprit Turbo. Each one of those was an enjoyable driver's car in its own right but, when Honda introduced the NSX, it turned the entire segment on its head and forced the legacy sports car manufacturers to head back to the drawing board in an effort to keep up. The NSX was the world’s first mass-produced car to be equipped with an all-aluminum body and was powered by a specially tuned variant of Honda’s legendary VTEC-equipped V6. Throughout the NSX’s 15-year production run, it was almost consistently being updated, gaining a Targa top, a larger 3.2-liter engine, and a 6th gear in the transmission. For many, the best NSXs are the cars built between 1997 and 2001 as they received all the performance updates but retained the infamous pop-up headlights.
Built in March 2001, this NSX-T is a wonderfully presented example, finished in Silverstone Metallic, which is paired with the sought-after, staggered 7-spoke aluminum wheels. Showing 24,045 miles, the car remains in fantastic condition for being 22 years old and has been under the care of just 3 owners in that time. Although largely stock, a few desirable aftermarket modifications have been added over the car’s life that don’t drastically change the driving experience but enhance a number of the aspects that make it great. Included with this sale are the original books, three keys, numerous service receipts, and many of the original parts that have now been replaced with upgrades. Starting in 1995, the NSX became the NSX-T as a Targa-style roof was added which became the only available body style through the end of the production run.
The interior is finished in black leather with matching black carpets and looks nearly new, showing just some minor wear on the bolsters. One of the things that makes the NSX so nice to drive is the exceptionally low dashboard- a signature of Honda’s in the era- this means placing the car on the road is significantly easier while still giving you an exceptionally clear view of the tachometer and speedometer in front of you. When the NSX first came out, one of the things that separated it from the crop of other low-slung, mid-engine cars was its excellent outward visibility- something that was never a strong suit for sports cars. This meant that there was finally a fun car you could use every day and forced other manufacturers to reevaluate their design choices.
Right behind the passengers sits the NSX’s 3.2 liter VTEC-equipped DOHC V6 which produces 290 horsepower and 224 lb-ft of torque. Known for their exceptional longevity, it is not uncommon to see one of these cars with over 200,000 miles on the odometer with little more than routine maintenance having been carried out. To get the car to make a bit more noise, a previous owner has installed a Comptech exhaust system which is paired to a set of 300-cell catalytic converters. This gives the car a bit more growl but remains subdued, and the exhaust pipes coming out the back look like they could have been there from the factory. All VTEC-equipped Honda products are renowned for their induction noise and to bring that out a bit more, a Science of Speed air intake scoop helps funnel more air from the side intake into the engine and makes a great noise with the windows down or the Targa top off.
Even though magazines and enthusiasts alike talked up the NSX as one of the best sports cars available in the period, production numbers began to slump after the first few years of the car being on sale and in 2001, only 182 cars were sold in the United States. Given how easy and enjoyable they are to use, many examples were daily driven and had the miles racked up over the years. Finding a car like this, from the final year of pop-up headlight production with low miles and a series of careful owners is not easy.
