How rare is an NSX-R?
Author
Discussion

amare32

Original Poster:

2,419 posts

239 months

Friday 17th September 2010
quotequote all
Has anyone on this forum ever driven or owned one? This car has been out for 8 years and not once have I seen it in the classifieds or recall anyone experiencing it. Seems like it's even rarer than an Enzo, CGT, Veyron and McLaren F1 - I've even seen a few of these on the roads but never the Honda.

To anyone who's tried one, are they really that good?

Dracoro

8,906 posts

261 months

Friday 17th September 2010
quotequote all
AFAIK they never sold it here, only a few hundred made, all JDM.

So, here, very rare yes biggrin

John D.

19,352 posts

225 months

Friday 17th September 2010
quotequote all
Rare rare.

amare32

Original Poster:

2,419 posts

239 months

Friday 17th September 2010
quotequote all
Dracoro said:
AFAIK they never sold it here, only a few hundred made, all JDM.

So, here, very rare yes biggrin
I thought Honda UK had 'officially imported limited numbers?

Ruskie

4,243 posts

216 months

Friday 17th September 2010
quotequote all
Saw my first NSX on the Pickering to Whitby road two weeks ago, looked lovely.

MartinF

557 posts

218 months

Friday 17th September 2010
quotequote all
Honda UK never officially brought these cars to the UK market, so very rare......

There is one, just one, in the UK right now according to this month's Top Gear mag, imported privately. It's for sale too, get on the blower.....

Dracoro

8,906 posts

261 months

Friday 17th September 2010
quotequote all
amare32 said:
Dracoro said:
AFAIK they never sold it here, only a few hundred made, all JDM.

So, here, very rare yes biggrin
I thought Honda UK had 'officially imported limited numbers?
1 I think biggrin for the press.

Someone from another thread (on PH somewhere) imported Hondas, I think the cost (all in, with sva etc.) was in the region of £110k (not sure if there were any takers, apart from the importer himself who won't sell). Given that only a few hundred in Japan actually exist, I think people thinking they can get one are kidding themselves biggrin

Tadite

560 posts

200 months

Friday 17th September 2010
quotequote all
Hideously rare. I've seen a few copies over the years but never real one and I lived in the center of NSX fanaticism (outside Japan) California.

Heck if I ever see a NSX Zanardi then I'm emptying my savings!


EvoBarry

1,903 posts

281 months

Friday 17th September 2010
quotequote all
Honda UK brought in one model for Type Approval, and it cost so much they'd never make any money on them so the idea was canned and the car was eventually sold off. I've driven that actual car and I'll take the memories to my grave biggrin Awesome machine.


Plate removed at owners request, altho it sometimes appears with the letters jumbled in various press.

98C4S

2,935 posts

206 months

Friday 17th September 2010
quotequote all
only 2 officially registered in the UK

standfree93

3,001 posts

203 months

Friday 17th September 2010
quotequote all
Think someone mentioned that they thought they saw one the other week in Aberdeen?

Never actually seen one, have seen a few NSX', one just last week actually!

amare32

Original Poster:

2,419 posts

239 months

Friday 17th September 2010
quotequote all
EvoBarry said:
Honda UK brought in one model for Type Approval, and it cost so much they'd never make any money on them so the idea was canned and the car was eventually sold off. I've driven that actual car and I'll take the memories to my grave biggrin Awesome machine.


Plate removed at owners request, altho it sometimes appears with the letters jumbled in various press.
You lucky S.O.B. biggrin

HeavySoul

10,213 posts

235 months

Saturday 18th September 2010
quotequote all
Doesn't Flemke have one?

Wasn't the one based 'up North' stolen a few years back too? Seem to remember a post about it on here.

flemke

23,169 posts

253 months

Saturday 18th September 2010
quotequote all
HeavySoul said:
Doesn't Flemke have one?

Wasn't the one based 'up North' stolen a few years back too? Seem to remember a post about it on here.
AFAIK, there are two Gen 1 Rs in the UK, and one Gen 2.
The 1s were imported privately. I believe that they are both dark metallic green; at least I can guarantee you that one of them is. Fwiw, IMO it's a better all-round road car than any Porsche I've ever driven. The steering and gearshift are spectacularly nice.
The Gen 2 was, as written above, brought in by Honda UK. They had to get it ESVA'd, and were shocked to find how much had to be altered to pass the test. This was why (or at least this is what they told me), although they had a reasonable number of firm deposits for the cars, ultimately they declined to import them.
I too was fortunate to drive the Gen 2. I believe that the person who owned the car when I drove it 4 years ago is no longer the owner. I hope that no other PHer is the current owner, as I do not want to insult someone. What I am bound to say, however, is that it was a dreadful road car. Suspension much too hard, gearing too tall (in both the 1 and the 2 they changed to a shorter final drive. It worked in the 1 because that has a 5-speed. It fails in the 2 because it has a 6-speed, making the new shift intervals too brief.)
The car also had a strange quality, whereby over bumps it seemed that the rear wheels would float a bit before regaining traction. Perhaps that could be changed with softer rear rebound, I don't know, but it was certainly off-putting.
Also, that particular example, during the couple of years when I occasionally saw it floating around, had plainly had a hard life. The car really surprised me, negatively.

ClintonB

4,721 posts

229 months

Saturday 18th September 2010
quotequote all
flemke said:
The 1s were imported privately. I believe that they are both dark metallic green; at least I can guarantee you that one of them is. Fwiw, IMO it's a better all-round road car than any Porsche I've ever driven. The steering and gearshift are spectacularly nice.
Is that the one that appeared in Car some time back, possibly owned by someone in Scotchland at the time? Unless I'm losing it or have had a bit more whiskey than expected, I do remember seeing that. Reasonably deep green IIRC.

GlenMH

5,354 posts

259 months

Saturday 18th September 2010
quotequote all
My local dealer has got one up for sale and I see it every day on my walk to the metro station. Even in Japan they are very expensive as he is selling it beside a non-R NSX. One is 2.5 times the price of the other for the same age car and we are talking nearly 100kGBP....

flemke

23,169 posts

253 months

Saturday 18th September 2010
quotequote all
ClintonB said:
flemke said:
The 1s were imported privately. I believe that they are both dark metallic green; at least I can guarantee you that one of them is. Fwiw, IMO it's a better all-round road car than any Porsche I've ever driven. The steering and gearshift are spectacularly nice.
Is that the one that appeared in Car some time back, possibly owned by someone in Scotchland at the time? Unless I'm losing it or have had a bit more whiskey than expected, I do remember seeing that. Reasonably deep green IIRC.
Yes, there was an article about it some years ago.

EvoBarry

1,903 posts

281 months

Saturday 18th September 2010
quotequote all
To be fair to flemke, I drove it on the same event but didn't have the time or space to push it anywhere near hard enough to glean much from it, I was just pleased to "drive" it for a while. Its clearly a track biased machine, the suspension was rock hard and unforgiving on those roads. I was used to my ITR though so was perhaps less critical at the time smile The owner did infer that if I had the funds I could have it off him, but considering he wanted more than I'd paid for my first house I declined his kind offer. I hope the new owner looks after the car though, its part of motoring history imho.

ikonic

404 posts

214 months

Saturday 18th September 2010
quotequote all
Forgive me if I'm talking horse's waste, but is there any truth in the fact that once the NSX-R (gen 2) model reaches 10 years old, it'll be much easier to import into the UK as it won't require a number of the changes?

Must admit I'm surprised that you didn't like the drive Flemke. Reading back through EVO coty 2002, they wax lyrical about it even as a road car as opposed to a track weapon.

RichyBoy

3,743 posts

233 months

Saturday 18th September 2010
quotequote all
Got up close to one in bushey (or shenley can't remember) and touched it, will take it to the grave smile