Anyone know if these are any good?? Someone I know is looking to get one... also does anyone know if they're avaliable as a manual, only few I've seen advertised have been autos, not what he'd prefer.

Forget the 3.0 automatic. Unless you just want a budget way into an NSX.
The 3.2 manual is the far better choice, although a lot more money.
These cars are very good, albeit not all that powerful.
Overpriced when new in the 1990s, they nevertheless offer a pure sports car drive with a rev-hungry bulletproof engine.

reported to be one of the best driving cars. handling developed by ayrton senna. the interiors are meant to be of 90's super mini quality.

At £65K it was too much. The competition was more powerful.

an early 3 litre manual for between 15-20k is a very pure, very japanese supercar....

....fantastic achievment...superb engines, sublime handling, honda quality...and your gran could drive it to the shops..made many people realise that all this 'oh, you cant hurry the change till the gearbox oil is warmed' and 'the brakes wont work till you get some heat in em' or 'engine neeeds rebuilt every 30k' that you used to get from ferrari et al was just a load of cobblers to make you buy into the mystique of the supercar, when, in actual fact, they just couldnt be arsed putting em together properly

For sure they were a practical Ferarri, but the hot hatch BHP was never enough to sway me.

they were plenty quick enough when introduced..i think its a car i could enjoy, as, for me, power isnt everything...the cars scalpel like incisive, intuitive handling would be enough to keep me entertained for a long time...pretty sure nsx would show many more powerful 'supercars' the way home round many tracks...power is nothing without control...in other words, you need brains and brawn, and to quote baloo, im loaded with both....haha

It's a lovely engine, but around 2001 the car should have been updated and fitted with a N/A 4.0 V8, with 350 bhp.

and risk upsetting the cars usp, its delicious balance....my ultimate nsx would be the total flop that was the nsx type r.....the ultimate itteration of the concept...it would be on my 'lottery' list...

350 bhp is moderate, these days and a lightweight, alloy V8, with a nice short stroke and 8,500 rpm would be ideal, imo.

i dont think they should have made the engine bigger, they could have tuned the 3.0 v6 to 350bhp though.

At the 310 bhp slightly fettled engines gave, the engine was already just about at capacity.
Over 100 bhp per litre n/a is enough.
No, they needed to move with the times and get more power, a newer engine and a restyle.
The back looked terribly dated by 2001.

..half the appeal tho???...to be honest, im surprised honda never replaced the nsx, it was a fantastic concept and they could have kept the name going with a similar car thru the noughties...

Similar, but updated, aye, plus modern V8s are really quite brilliant.

quote:

Originally posted by XNtrikalfaman:
they were plenty quick enough when introduced..i think its a car i could enjoy, as, for me, power isnt everything...the cars scalpel like incisive, intuitive handling would be enough to keep me entertained for a long time...pretty sure nsx would show many more powerful 'supercars' the way home round many tracks...power is nothing without control...in other words, you need brains and brawn, and to quote baloo, im loaded with both....haha

True. Just check out some of the Best Motoring videos and see the NSX-R keeping pace with the top supercars. The only area it loses out is on the straights. I think the R should have had an extra 50bhp or so.

There was only ever 1 R sold in the UK and at £100K or something daft.
Give me a 997 turbo every time.
Under 300 bhp was weak then and is more so now at that price.

i think in THAT car it would have kept me entertained for a good while......these headline busting power and torque figures are completely irrelevant if the car cant get it all down on the track..and the old nsx may have had 'only' 300hp, but all of those ponies were utilised every time you put the hammer down in an economy of motion rarely seen since in a 'supercar'....

i see the nsx as being almost the supercar version of a caterham or atom..not overly powerful, but show it some challenging curves and it will still dance away from many more powerful cars...

They really aren't too quick, G.
Most don't believe this, but on the A57 i had a right old 12-mile ding dong with a blue 3.2 coupe and i was in my Mini!
I'd do him on the brakes every time and there wasn't much in it up to 90 either.

not quick in a straight line, but sublime through the bends.....and thats the feeling i love, a good handling, confidnece inspiring car...absolute power i get used too...quickly..but hadling i would enjoy every day, in cars as mundane as a mundano or as exotic as an nsx or similar...

300-400-500 hp, whatl it do mister..oh yes, MY cars considerably more powerful than yours blah blah blah..its all just top trumps bragging rights..which is why i love cars like the atom, the catrham, and yes, the mini in all its variations..(tho i may have issues with its styling and overall packaging, its stil a damn fine handling car that puts a smile on any drivers face...)

I agree, my Mini GP was really very very good.

There is a supercharger kit available for a reliable 400bhp

Now that would be nice.

that should add lots of low down grunt without mucking up the weight too badly...sounds like a good compromise...

400 bhp and 350 lbs-ft likely!

if you look up times for the nurbugring, the nsx, old and new, posts some pretty good times..the type r beats more than a few cars you might have thought more powerful/able..