I wonder what might have been if the OG NSX had an inline six cylinder (similar to its rivals) while retaining its midship placement.
I thought the NSX’s rival was the 348? Either way the NSX-R is one of the greatest drivers cars of all time. Another level above the Supra, and Skyline GTR.
It’s the V6 not inline 6.
He was wondering what if the NSX had an Inline 6 like the Supra, and Skyline GTR.
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Yes, I believe this is correct. I was thinking of Nissans and Toyota’s, but I do distinctly recall Ferrari was Honda’s target.
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Why would that have changed anything?
I dunno, I mean: two of the other big manufacturers of the time seem to have produced more ‘serious’ cars (GTR & Supra) with that configuration.
Would Honda be more recognized if they competed in that league.
Vanishingly few people care about performance, not that it would have change much in that area.
The NSX could hold its own against Ferrari berlinettas when it came out, but it was also sold at the price of a Ferrari berlinetta. And if you have that kind of money, you want to be seen in a Ferrari, not a Honda. A different engine wouldn’t have changed that.
Then, in the Japanese automaking tradition, Honda kept refining that one model. Meanwhile, Ferrari (and others) kept making new cars, with more power, more stuff, and the NSX was quickly outdated. And again, changing the engine wouldn’t have changed that.
You talk about the Skyline GT-R and the Supra, but these aren’t good examples either. The Supra Mk4 and R34 Skyline GT-R became popular with Fast and Furious. Without that, they’d be forgotten. I mean, just look at the Supra Mk3 and R33.
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The NSX was in a different market than the Supra and Skyline GTR.
It was in Corvette, Ferrari, and Porsche’s market, undercutting all three in price while bringing more to the table than them all. To this day, the NSX is more desirable to people who like to do canyon runs and track days. I think it’s hard to find a stock Supra or Skyline GTR because of street racing culture in Japan back in the 90’s and the chase to be the fastest in the country (top speed wars on the Wangan).
I don’t think the NSX could make big power and still be drivable which is why you don’t see 1000 hp builds. Personally, 170 mph in 1990 was enough. That’s 30 mph shy of a car that costed around 5 times as much, and was twice as cumbersome to drive in the F40.
TLDR; The NSX is more of a canyon or track car, and was in a different market than the Supra and Skyline GTR.
Edit: I should’ve watched the whole video, the NSX came before the MKIV and around the same time as the R32. Still from what I’ve seen the NSX is more of a canyon/track car while the Skyline GTR and Supra are more prone to being drag/drift machines.
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Actually, the Supra is the odd one out, being a grand coupe and more of a cruiser. Its competition is more the Nissan Z than the GT-R or NSX.
The NSX was built to be a supercar, looks like a supercar, and its highest profile appearance in pop culture is perhaps thirty seconds of screen time in Pulp Fiction.
The R32 GT-R wasn’t built as a supercar. It was built as a racecar. It’s a Grouo A homologation special. And while the R33 and R34 aren’t (essentially because the R32 was eventually banned), they still have that technical base of a racecar with an engine designed to be race-prepped for far more power than the agreed 280hp. But now with more space-age technology, like an all-wheel-drive all-wheel-steering system with active differential traction control, and for the R34 a tunable onboard computer.
Its style is perhaps unconventional for a supercar, it is kinda based on a sedan originally after all, and it is front-engined rather than mid-engined. But the biggest reason nobody thinks of the R34 as a supercar is that it was the hero car in 2 Fast 2 Furious. That gave it the (frankly undeserved) aura of a street tuner.
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