One-of-483 lightweight racing specials could be yours
90s Japanese hero cars are enjoying unprecedented levels of collector interest and subsequent values right now; with collectors around the globe, increasingly competing to part with unheard-of amounts of money for the once humble Japanese car. Of particular interest are original low-km examples, limited production specials and exacting restorations.
Miami-based specialist dealer, SpeedArt Motorsports, seeks to add to the boom by offering a perfectly-restored, as-new 1993 Honda NSX-R, for a whopping US$285,000 – or AU$399,000.
The Honda NSX put the supercar world on notice when it launched in 1990, blending class-leading and capable performance with everyday useability and ergonomics – not something usually associated with supercars before it.
But if the standard model was a little too plush for you, Honda decided in 1992 to created 438 stripped-back lightweight NSX Type-Rs (or NSX-Rs for short).
The NSX-R was born of a standard NSX coupe, which was then treated to a serious weight-saving program.
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Sound deadening, air-conditioning, radio, spare tyre, as well as traction control and other electrical systems were binned, while its power leather seats were traded for bespoke Carbon-Kevlar Recaro bucket seats. OEM Forged alloy wheels were traded for forged aluminium units produced by Enkei Japan, and other painstaking lightweight details can found throughout the vehicle; down to the titanium gear shifter and costly monel-alloy key.
Overall, the NSX-R measured 120kgs lighter than its standard sibling, while its mid-mounted 3.0lt V6 was further treated to a blueprinted and balanced crankshaft in similar construction to Honda’s factory racecars.
This rare Formula Red example is chassis #44, and has travelled a mere 49,616kms over its life. It has its air-conditioning refitted as an option upon ordering, while a blank delete plate sits in place of the optionable Bose sound system.
The NSX-R remained with its original owner until 2000, when it is believed to have been sold to an Australian entity.
Its Australian owner never exported the car from Japan however, and it remained in its homeland until 2016 when it was purchased by a Malaysian collector.
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It spent the next two years in Malaysia, undergoing extensive mechanical refurbishment and a respray to Championship White.
The car changed hands again in 2018, and was then rehomed to the UK where Graham Horgan, a UK NSX-specialist, owned it.
Horgan later agreed to sell the vehicle to an American collector, under the condition that the car would be exactingly restored to its as-delivered specification. The car was completely rebuilt outside and in, and is now offered in virtually as-new condition.
Standard NSXs have enjoyed firm rises on the global market over the past few years, as Japanese collectibles continue to come into their own.
Frequently fetching six-figures in standard trim, this NSX-R’s gargantuan pricetag may be hard to stomach for most of us; but in an age where a humble Honda Civic can sell for over AU$70,000 – nothing would really surprise us.
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