New NSX Tribute by Italdesign breaks cover
Honda approved, Championship White and with a roof scoop - it's an NSX greatest hits medley
Despite ushering in the idea of a V6 hybrid supercar long before the Ferrari 296, the NC1 generation of Honda NSX never really excited the buying public. For many of the same reasons as the first one: that badge on the front, and a very plain interior. Now, however, that car is back in the Tokyo show limelight thanks to Italdesign; with blessing from Honda HQ, they’ve used the 3.5-litre NSX as the basis to celebrate all that was great about both generations, with nods throughout the ‘NSX Tribute by Italdesign’ to 35 years of Honda supercar history.
This concept was intended to celebrate a couple of other significant Honda anniversaries, too, albeit from 2025. Last year marked 60 years since Honda won its first F1 race, and 30 years since an original NSX finished top of its GT2 class at Le Mans, meaning this Tribute is heavily inspired by motorsport. So the lower black sections, contrasting with the Championship White paint, are ‘technical and racing-oriented’, the red ‘H’ is just like an NSX-R, the new wheels ‘significantly enhance the racing look’ and the interior is said to be “inspired by Formula 1 single-seaters” - according to Senior Interior Designer Alessandro Tobin.
Note also the additional cooling for the V6 in the side, a much meaner front end, a black greenhouse that ‘lightens the silhouette and accentuates sportiness’, plus a roof scoop that evokes the mythical NSX-R GT. If the most recent NSX looked a bit plain from the factory, there are no such concerns now.
And that’s before getting to the rear of the Tribute. The back of the original NA1 NSX was perhaps its most recognisable angle, and now Italdesign has attempted to meld that iconic design onto the rump of its replacement. Inevitably it’s not quite as cohesive as the real thing, but you can absolutely see what was trying to be achieved, and it’s 100 times more interesting than the regular appearance. This isn’t just for show, either. Gaspare Conticelli, Senior Exterior Designer reckons: “The floating ring of the NSX, which improved high-speed stability, becomes a continuous, suspended, elegant, and functional visual element that expresses lightness and dynamism. The rear light clusters are not framed by a fairing as at the front but emerge individually from the black background. The underlying hot-air diffuser features functional grooves that recall the treatment applied to our recent concepts.”
See, despite the name, the Tribute isn’t just for show - the modifications are serving a purpose as well. Or, to put it in Italdesign speak: ‘Every exterior component of the NSX Tribute by Italdesign is the result of rigorous study, where technical functions blend with aesthetic character.’
The interior rework is a little less extreme, though evidently there will be options aplenty when it comes to colours and materials. Italdesign is already previewing everything from what looks like tan corduroy to something much redder and racier, though without many fundamental changes. There’s still what looks like an old Civic dash, basically; you might say that the NSX was always interesting enough to overlook that fact - and the Tribute even more so - though it most certainly still exists. This must be what Italdesign means when it mentions ‘intervening only where necessary’. We’re struggling to see much motorsport influence, or inspiration from the original, but then nobody has ever bought any NSX for the interior vibe. Let us know when you see the helmet on the dash or the #12, both nods to Senna…
More than just a Tokyo show stopper, it seems that Italdesign intends to make some of these Tributes. After all, you don’t go to Honda for approval just to have it forgotten about next week. This will be a ‘contemporary, tailor-made few-off project’, with everything handled by Italdesign. As well as the design, they’re going to engineer and build it for a small group of customers.
Italdesign’s head of design Joaquin Garcia added: “At Italdesign we have all the expertise needed to turn bold ideas into tangible realities and bring visionary projects to ultra-limited series. This tribute is no exception and looks forward. It is not a restomod, nor a purely nostalgic exercise: it is the will to merge memory and innovation, advanced technology and artisanal excellence in a model that preserves the original racing DNA, together with the Italian character of the exterior forms, to which we have added contemporary styling and engineering solutions.”
An exact number hasn’t been put on the amount of Tributes that’ll be built or what they’ll cost, but given £100,000 is required just for a standard secondhand one, a prospective buyer will probably need to turn up with the best part of half a million quid. And really, really love all the NSXs.
Or to put it another way, it might be slightly less vile than most modern super/sports cars, but it's still pretty vile.
btw, not a sports car, but the Honda 0 Saloon looks interesting, if they actually deliver on the concept.
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