WhyOne?
23-11-2021, 10:10 AM
Based on this email which I received a few days ago, it is written by someone who clearly 'gets' fast Honda's and as such may be an informed and interesting read:
"I get to drive a lot of cars in this job; some are great, some are rubbish, but all are an experience. After 10 years of writing feature articles, the best measure of how good a car really is seems to be how tight my grip on the keys remains at the end of the day. And one model I always struggle to give back is the Honda NSX.
I had my pick of the bunch recently. Someone got in touch to offer us a drive in their 16,000-mile NA1, and before the day was out I’d hatched a plan to pull together all the best variants to cover off the entire model history, from the earliest 3-litre version to the latest hybrid supercar. The one machine that I hadn’t driven – and which I was most looking forward to – was Mike James’ facelifted NSX-R, one of less than a handful in Europe. You can check out the December 2021 issue to find out what I thought of it in greater detail, but, in short, it was an eye-opening experience that left me feeling as if I’d driven something truly exceptional. Something that probably won’t be repeated; a true great.
Incredibly, those cars are now worth as much as £500,000. To even think about getting into even a rough example you’ll have to have at least half that. And that’s when it hit me: I’ve felt that feeling before.
It was a few years ago, when Tom Lynch and Simon Branney from Honda’s UK press office arranged a trip to Barcelona, featuring the bulk of the firm’s historic fleet. There was everything from first-generation Insight to CR-V – all with Gina G or Snap! blaring out of tinny speakers from period-correct Now That’s What I Call Music cassette tapes – but the one I made a beeline for was the Integra Type R.
The DC2 is something of a legend in modern classic circles, regularly hailed as one of the best-handling front-wheel-drive cars of all time. I’m not a big one for hyperbole, but after a spirited drive around the country roads of Catalunya, I couldn’t help but agree. It was incredible, digging in and gripping at speeds I didn’t think possible for a front-drive car, let alone one that was more than 20 years old even then.
The 1.8-litre B18C ‘four’ puts out a respectable 197bhp, spinning to a spine-tingling 8700rpm, with a similar VTEC variable valve timing system to the NSX that creates a familial link between the two machines. And you can reckon on somewhere in the mid-6 secs for the 0-60bhp dash.
Opt for a Championship White example and you’ll get the exact same special shade as used on the NSX-R and, inside, the magic of the limited-run supercar continues. The Integra feels a similarly special place, with red-trimmed bucket seats (albeit not the c£30k examples in the mid-engined car), a racy steering wheel and lovely milled gearknob.
I loved the Integra when I drove it and initially swore that I had to have one, but the modernity of it put me off. I like my cars a bit simpler. Yet the more time has passed, the more I feel myself being drawn back to the DC2. Nothing is new for ever, and there’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll look back on the Type R with the same misty eyes that we do the 911 Carrera RS 2.7 – usually as some sad guy down the pub tells you they passed one up for £1500. The best bit? You can still pick up a half-decent example for about 10 grand.
Greg MacLeman
Features editor"
"I get to drive a lot of cars in this job; some are great, some are rubbish, but all are an experience. After 10 years of writing feature articles, the best measure of how good a car really is seems to be how tight my grip on the keys remains at the end of the day. And one model I always struggle to give back is the Honda NSX.
I had my pick of the bunch recently. Someone got in touch to offer us a drive in their 16,000-mile NA1, and before the day was out I’d hatched a plan to pull together all the best variants to cover off the entire model history, from the earliest 3-litre version to the latest hybrid supercar. The one machine that I hadn’t driven – and which I was most looking forward to – was Mike James’ facelifted NSX-R, one of less than a handful in Europe. You can check out the December 2021 issue to find out what I thought of it in greater detail, but, in short, it was an eye-opening experience that left me feeling as if I’d driven something truly exceptional. Something that probably won’t be repeated; a true great.
Incredibly, those cars are now worth as much as £500,000. To even think about getting into even a rough example you’ll have to have at least half that. And that’s when it hit me: I’ve felt that feeling before.
It was a few years ago, when Tom Lynch and Simon Branney from Honda’s UK press office arranged a trip to Barcelona, featuring the bulk of the firm’s historic fleet. There was everything from first-generation Insight to CR-V – all with Gina G or Snap! blaring out of tinny speakers from period-correct Now That’s What I Call Music cassette tapes – but the one I made a beeline for was the Integra Type R.
The DC2 is something of a legend in modern classic circles, regularly hailed as one of the best-handling front-wheel-drive cars of all time. I’m not a big one for hyperbole, but after a spirited drive around the country roads of Catalunya, I couldn’t help but agree. It was incredible, digging in and gripping at speeds I didn’t think possible for a front-drive car, let alone one that was more than 20 years old even then.
The 1.8-litre B18C ‘four’ puts out a respectable 197bhp, spinning to a spine-tingling 8700rpm, with a similar VTEC variable valve timing system to the NSX that creates a familial link between the two machines. And you can reckon on somewhere in the mid-6 secs for the 0-60bhp dash.
Opt for a Championship White example and you’ll get the exact same special shade as used on the NSX-R and, inside, the magic of the limited-run supercar continues. The Integra feels a similarly special place, with red-trimmed bucket seats (albeit not the c£30k examples in the mid-engined car), a racy steering wheel and lovely milled gearknob.
I loved the Integra when I drove it and initially swore that I had to have one, but the modernity of it put me off. I like my cars a bit simpler. Yet the more time has passed, the more I feel myself being drawn back to the DC2. Nothing is new for ever, and there’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll look back on the Type R with the same misty eyes that we do the 911 Carrera RS 2.7 – usually as some sad guy down the pub tells you they passed one up for £1500. The best bit? You can still pick up a half-decent example for about 10 grand.
Greg MacLeman
Features editor"