Other NSXs

Below is information and pictures of notable race Honda NSXs from around the World. Know of any more? Be sure to let us know!

GT1 Le Mans NSX


1995 GT1 NSX		1995 GT1 NSX		1995 GT1 NSX

Click here for more GT1 Honda NSX pictures...

There were two GT1 NSXs entered at Le Mans in 1995. It was hurried and consequently underdeveloped car, so it was not surprising that they didn't do well. One finished but was unclassified whilst the other had gearbox failure. I have spoken to MCT and John Thompson (who designed all of the Le Mans cars) who sadly expected the result, despite the cars potential.

The GT1 car was very different from a road going NSX. Most notably it had a turbocharged longitudinal engine with the small matter of 650bhp! The chassis was very different too, despite resembling a production car. In fact, only the centre of the chassis remained from the road going counterpart. Weight was just over 1000kg, much lighter than a normal NSX (1350kg) despite the hefty roll cage.

I am not sure of the whereabouts of the GT1 cars, however John Thompson confirmed that the other GT1 NSX didn't exist. Sadly, he has now retired and most of his drawings were thrown out. The rest were sent to Honda Racing USA.

GT2 Le Mans NSX


1994 GT2 NSX		1995 GT2 NSX - Honda Museum		1995 GT2 NSX

Click here for more GT2 Honda NSX pictures...

Like the GT1 cars, the GT2 cars were designed and built under the supervision of John Thompson. Pretty much all of the components of the cars were built in the UK. Despite the NSXs rarity, I've managed to find quite a few people involved in the project.

Unlike the GT1 NSX, the GT2 car actually did rather well, the number 84 car winning it's class (8th overall) in 1995. Even more impressive is that the car started late and was 6 laps down by the time it started. The drivers were Keiichi Tsuchiya, Akira Iida and Kunimitsu Takahashi. Kunimitsu appeared to be the race team if you saw the decals, yet it was Kremer Racing who prepared the cars originally.

The cars themselves, being GT2, were more closely related to the production NSXs but still weighed in at a very light 1050kg. Honda squeezed 390ps from the heavily tuned naturally aspirated 3.0 V6. Various websites claim it was also longitudial, but i'm not so sure considering it was a GT2 car.

I'm not sure how many GT2 cars existed - the paragraphs below confuse matters further - but as far as I am aware there is one car owned by Honda, another in the USA and there is a very slim chance another is in the UK.

Controversy

There is a great deal of confusion over the whereabouts of all of the Le Mans NSXs. I believe the winning number 84 GT2 NSX is the Honda Collection Hall in Japan but I can't verify if it's still there, only that it's still listed on their website. Christies auction house say they sold the car in 2002 to a private US seller in 2002 for Ł115,250/ ($198,470). I have heard a rumour this was in fact a fake example. If someone could verify if the car is the Honda Collection Hall then this matter would be cleared up, otherwise, the car could be the one pictured in the GT2 Gallery with the Acura sponsorship.

An Austrian race team called Altschach claimed it was selling the same car in 2002 for Ł60k, even posting it on NSX Prime. Of course this was impossible as two cars can't be in two different places! According to Dirk - a well respected NSX specialist in Germany - it was in fact an ex-ADAC car. Looking at the picture, it does appear to have the Le Mans rear diffuser and possibly wheels, but clearly it is not wide bodied like either of the Le Mans cars. Suspiciously, Altschach appear to be now out of business.

Altschach also claimed to have the spare parts package for the GT1 car around the same time. This was sold to Dirk who returned the parts after he believed the body moulds were not genuine because they didn't fit. We found this out after seeing the parts ourselves in 2007 which are currently held by Frank Jacob of Springbok (Germany). The parts seemed good, all moulds were there as well plenty of other fancy bits. After speaking to Dirk though things started not to add up however, especially as Frank Jacob said the parts were from Altschach, who he believed looked after the Le Mans NSXs. This was not true however, as Kremer Racing ran the cars.

In addition, I had spoken to John Thompson who didn't mention any parts going to Austria or Germany for that matter. That was strange after Alstach claimed they bought the parts originally direct from Thompson. After showing Dirk photos, he confirmed they were the same parts he original returned to Altschach. Regrettably then, we had to leave the parts alone. The plan was to turn into a GT2 exact replica but we decided not to take the Ł20,000 risk that Frank Jacob wanted for the parts.

I would like to clarify I am not accusing Frank Jacob of mis-selling the parts, for all I know he is merely uninformed and has been ripped off by Altschach. Also, I am not 100% sure they are fakes as I wonder if the moulds were always ill fitting. Even so, the parts package is not comprehensive enough to build another GT1/GT2 car. We estimated the build cost to be around Ł120,000 to build a replica through original engineers in the UK, probably equal to the cost of an actual GT2 car if one were on the market!

Real Time Racing NSX


1996 Real Time NSX	2000 Real Time NSX	1997 Real Time NSX

2000 Real Time NSX in Museum	1997 Real Time NSX	1997 Real Time NSX

Real Time Racing is a race team which focuses on Hondas/Acuras. In 1996 they entered the 1996 SCCA GT Championship with a white NSX. It's Comptech signage suggested it was perhaps supercharged. Other than that, it looked fairly standard. After a so-so start, the car won the last two races.

In 1997 the car changed quite drastically with new livery and body kit, centre lock wheels and more. It did very well, with driver Peter Cunningham winning the series.

The Real Time NSX then had a break for a while, returning in 2001 with a Vortech supercharger. Unfortunately the car had a problem mid-season which proved costly, resulting in a runners up position over the whole season. Despite this, the NSX achieved more podium finishes then any other car.

Real Time Racing managed to get semi-official backing from Honda. Once the car was retired, it was put in a private Honda Museum situated in California where it remains with other notable Hondas and Acuras.

JGTC NSX

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

ADAC GT Cup NSX

Out of all European countries, the Germans seem to have the greatest following for the Honda NSX. In the 1990s NSXs were a fairly regular entry in the ADAC GT Cup series, including the famous 24 Hour Nurburgring race where one NSX came 3rd in it's first season. The first NSX to be involved to the best of my knowledge was the Seikel team NSX in 1993. The Honda faired well in the series, and the famous Armin Hahne drove one of three cars provided by Honda Germany.

I am pretty sure the cars were NSX-Rs, despite the road car never being available in the country. If you look closely, the car I took pictures of had a standard rear spoiler and bonnet. The race photo clearly shows a different spoiler and bonnet. The ADAC cars were not majorly modified but still had some tasty additions. Huge 18" magnesium BBS wheels covered large Brembo brake calipers. The cars were partially stripped

and had the obligatory roll cage.
I saw an example whilst at Springbok in Germany with Mugen stickers so perhaps the engines were slightly fettled too. They also had a straight cut gearboxes.
Rival cars included Porsche 911s, M3 GTRs, Escort Cosworths, s well as rarer entries including a Corvette and Audi S2.
Sport Auto magazine raced a newer NSX recently in the 2003 24 Hour Nurburgring race. It was running as high as 7th but unfortunately, an accident followed by essential repairs thwarted Honda's hopes of finishing in a top position. Meanwhile, a Honda S2000 took class honours.
I'm not sure if the NSX is still raced today. If you can read German, visit the German Wikipedia and search for the NSX it will tell you more than I currently know! From reading it myself, it looks like an ex-JGTC may of even done the 24 Hour Nurburgring race.