Description
H&H Classic Auction @ The Imperial War Museum, Duxford/ Cambridgeshire
9th October, 2024 13:00
1991 Honda NSX
UK supplied example
Estimate
£50, 000 - £60, 000
Registration No: F21 NSX
Chassis No: JHMNA12600T000564
MOT: March 2025
Finished in Formula Red with Black upholstery, the same as the car owned by racing legend Ayrton Senna
Understood to be 1 of just 500 UK supplied examples
Cherished registration number ‘F21 NSX’ included in sale
Offered with owners wallet, service book and handbook plus a collection of invoices
The NSX (New Sportscar eXperimental) was a major departure for Honda, which by 1984 was renowned for its well-engineered but generally quite staid road cars. Its origins lay in the HP-X (Honda Pininfarina eXperimental) concept of that year and wowed the performance car world when it debuted at the 1989 Chicago Auto Show. The intention was to match or better the performance of contemporaneous V8 Ferraris, coupled with superior reliability and lower cost. The styling was inspired by the F-16 fighter jet, the paint process ran to 23 phases, and Ayrton Senna was involved in the vehicle's final development. It was the first mass-production car equipped with an all-aluminium body and was powered by an all-alloy V6 motor featuring Honda's patented VTEC engine control system and titanium connecting rods. The unit drove through a five-speed manual or four-speed sports automatic system.
Make no mistake, this was a mould-breaking motorcar that even caused McLaren F1 designer Gordon Murray to say: "When I drove an NSX, all existing benchmark cars vanished from my mind." The car was the first real Japanese 'supercar', proving itself and quickly establishing respect from its key competitors. However, this superiority was not translated into sales and, by the time production ceased in 2005, fewer than 20, 000 had been sold making them relatively rare and much sought-after today.
Manufactured in 1991, ‘F21 NSX’ is a highly desirable UK-supplied example having been supplied new via Shepperton Honda and first registered on the 16th of May that year. Finished in the striking and iconic colour combination of Formula Red paintwork with Black leather interior upholstery, matching that of the NSX owned by racing legend Ayrton Senna that is so familiar from the well-known image of him washing it outside his Portuguese villa in 1992. The 3. 0 V6 VTEC engine is allied to the four-speed automatic transmission and is offered for auction having covered some 93, 600 miles from new. Covering the majority of its mileage in the first eleven years, surpassing 70, 000 miles, the NSX has just three former keepers. While residing in current ownership, the NSX has been used regularly, attending numerous shows, and winning awards at several of them!
Presenting very well, the NSX still features its supplying dealer sticker in the rear windscreen and the tool kit, as well as the original steering wheel and gear lever accompanying. Supplied with a history file that includes the book pack in the Honda wallet including the owner’s handbook and service book, a large collection of previous MOT certificates, numerous invoices for maintenance and servicing, original sales literature, current V5C document, and, most pleasingly, the original Shepperton Honda sales invoice and correspondence between the Shepperton Sales Director and the first owner. Benefitting from its most recent cambelt change in 2023 by Guildford Honda and a full service at the start of this year, this NSX is an excellent opportunity to acquire a scarce UK-supplied example, in a very popular colour scheme.
