Test drive Honda NSX 2002 - 2005 compartment

A new attempt to win

On December 6, 2001, a partial modernization of Honda NSX was announced, and already on the 14th day of the same month the updated car went on sale. The WEBCG reporter Aoki (Aoki) made a testing trip on this car, which is now equipped with a 3.2-liter engine with a 6th V-shaped cylinders in combination with a 6-speed manual gearbox. What is she, this Japanese superman with wide-looking phary eyes?
The first impression is some kind of inactive
Honestly, when I met this brainchild of Honda, I had guilt. Honestly, I believed that the changes that would make in this car during the low modernization will make it comparable to Mitsubishi GTO (by the way, I liked it). How did I know that it would become more like Ferrari cars, namely TR512 or F512M?
But first things first. So, in December 2001, Honda spread the news about partial changes in the NSX. Perhaps, for the first time since the appearance of this model in the market in 1990, she changed her appearance so much. In the front of the body, the new headlights of the spotlight instead of the previous hiding ones are immediately attention. This largely changed the facial features of NSX. The developers abandoned the previous complex design of the headlights, as a result of which the car immediately felt better by 10.4 kg (this means standard equipment). In addition, the cover, which covered the headlights, had a complex shape, and this directly influenced the aerodynamic characteristics of the machine. In the new model, streamlines became slightly higher than in the old model - even if you take for comparison the option with folded headlights.
Work on improving aerodynamic indicators was not limited only to the alteration of the headlights. She touched on all parts of the body and led to a change in the shape of the front and rear bumper, a decrease in the sailing of the spoiler, installing the rear apron, and additional processing of door and decorative lateral strips. As a result, a new, or rather updated appearance of the machine, in a sense, lost its aggressiveness and became somehow inactive.
All NSX modifications remained the same. This is Coupe, Type T (version in the body of Targa, that is, with a removable roof) and the sports modification of Type S, which was developed simultaneously with the plan of low modernization of the entire model range. Almost no changes and the engine have undergone. The basis is the option-a 3.2-liter 6-cylinder V-shaped engine, which develops a power of 280 horsepower and a torque of 31.0 kg/m. It is complemented by a 6-speed gearbox with manual switching. However, for modifications of Coupe and Type T, an option with a working volume of 3 liters is prepared, with 6 cylinders located V-shaped. It develops a power of 265 hp. With a maximum torque of 30.0 kg/m and combined with a 4-speed automatic transmission.
Behind the windshield, everything flickers, as on the screen
I open an elongated door and land in a leather chair collected on an aluminum frame. And what do I see in front of me? The front panel has retained the former outlines that have already become a classic. To the left and to the right of the steering column, switches scatter to the sides, which are covered with an elongated panel cover on top. Against the background of this familiar picture, the navigation system set in the option looks some kind of foreign object. Probably, many will pay attention to the ceiling of the cabin, covered with material like Jersey. In truth, I believed that if one million yen is asked for this car than for the BMW M3, which I have been driving not so long ago, then there should be something better here!
The layout of the car, in which the engine is put closer to the middle part of the chassis, is borrowed from the arsenal of ring highways. But everything is clear there: it is difficult to expect success if the car does not strive every time at least a little bit, but to reduce the radius of rotation. But when I sit behind the wheel of NSX, I have no goal of taking every bend of the road; However, I still feel the benefits from such a layout of the car. Well, let's say, when driving along the medium -sized highway among the mountains, when the road goes down, and then with great curvature strives upstairs. You will not have time to look around, and the car is already walking along the curve, literally breaking out from under the driver. This gives an indescribable sensation of the unity of the driver and his car.
The engine of 3.2 liters, as I already noted, has a gas distribution mechanism with automatically changed phases (VTEC system). Thanks to this, when the crankshaft rotation speed is reached at 6,000 rpm. The machine begins to gain speed with breathtaking intensity. Because of this, the front windshield literally turns into a screen that shows me, sitting in front of him in complete delight, more and more landscapes and pictures. However, when on the tachometer 6000 about,/min. At the third speed, this already means that the speed of the machine is no less than 120 km/h, so the driver must understand the entire measure of responsibility for his and otherwise security.
Indeed, this is a supermine
NSX stands on BBS aluminum wheels, on which the tires of new development are stretched, which provide a hard, sports type of driving. Ahead - tires in size 215/40R17, on the rear wheels - 255/40R17. This combination leads to a hard move familiar to sports cars. At the same time, this rigidity does not cause unpleasant sensations to the driver. Perhaps, due to the coordinated operation of the suspension, the levers of which are 80 percent consist of aluminum alloy - again, to maximize the weight of the machine. Consistent articulated supports are well fitted under the bushings, which makes it possible to reduce the change in the Honda geometry of the suspension to a minimum. Therefore, tremors arising from the contact of tires with the road are not transmitted directly to passengers sitting in the cabin. On the contrary, the body returns to the starting point slowly, as it should be for aluminum super mastery.
Even before the NSX passed small modernization, there were people who said: yes, the car is good, but still it does not reach the level of such a car as Coupe Fiat. I admit that I was also among these incredulous. But, after a long break behind the wheel of the updated NSX, I dramatically changed my mind.
Of course, the NSX has some understatement. And what else can explain the fact that anyone who settled behind the wheel and the previous version of the model has always concluded: yes, this is really a supermine!. And the general public, meanwhile, continued to remain in ignorance. If you do not believe, get behind the wheel yourself and ride on public roads. And NSX will prove to you that he is still super and still in the ranks. Yes, once this car was developed on the model and likeness of Ferrari 328, and a lot of time has passed since then. For three generations in a row, the NSX has been conducting a competition, and it does not always turn into its favor. But, I think, for Japan itself, in which, as they say, the middle class has signs of satiety, the very fact of the existence of this car is of fundamental importance.
Technical characteristics of Honda NSX
Length / width / body height 4430 mm / 1810 mm / 1170 mm
Wheel base 2530 mm
Dry weight 1360 kg
The rear drive
The engine 3.2-liter, 6-cylinder with a V-shaped cylinder location, gas distribution mechanism two upper shafts with 24 valves, developed power-280 hp. at 7300 rpm, maximum torque 31.0 kg/m at 5300 rpm.
Transmission 6-speed manual transmission
The basic price of the car is 9 .207,000 yen (about $ 87.700)
The price of the car on which the testing trip 10.857.000 was performed (about $ 103.400)
 

Author: Aoki (Aoki), Webcg Agency
Photo: Simizu Kenta (Shimizu Kenta)
December 2001
 

Source: webcg