We never got the Honda NSX-R in the US. Watching this archival video from Japan's Best Motoring will make you wish we did. At least, that's what it's done to me.
To create the first Type R, NSX development chief and Honda legend Shigeru Uehara and his team went mad. Thanks to the removal of pretty much all creature comforts, the NSX-R only weighed a little over 2711 pounds—around 265 pounds less than the already light standard NSX. The suspension was retuned for track duty, and the interior featured carbon-kevlar Recaro bucket seats and a titanium shift knob.
Officially, the NSX-R made 276 horsepower—the maximum amount determined by a gentleman's agreement between all Japanese automakers—but it probably made more than that. The base NSX's super-tall gearing was also reduced, too. Nothing was overlooked. A little under 500 were built for Japan only in 1992, and all were painted Championship White.
The car quickly became a legend. Watching this Best Motoring video reminds us why—it was a monster on track. And as part of its diet, Honda stripped out almost all the NSX's sound deadening, leaving us with all sorts of glorious intake sound from that 3.0-liter V6.
And while the NSX-R never came to the US initially, it's now over 25 years old, so you're free to import one. If you have the means, do it, then please give me a call.
A car enthusiast since childhood, Chris Perkins is Road & Track's engineering nerd and Porsche apologist. He joined the staff in 2016 and no one has figured out a way to fire him since. He street-parks a Porsche Boxster in Brooklyn, New York, much to the horror of everyone who sees the car, not least the author himself. He also insists he's not a convertible person, despite owning three.
