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The original Acura NSX: Development history and driving the icon

The original NSX, introduced in production form in 1990 by Honda and to the United States market under the Acura brand in 1991, is now officially 25 plus years old. Generations of car enthusiasts grew to love the original NSX over the 15 years it was in production and beyond, but as an fan and owner, I think it's important to fully realize just how monumental a shift the introduction of the NSX was in the art of making cars. So, retold 25 years later, this is the abridged story of the NSX, Honda's supercar. The Idea The NSX was an extremely risky project for Honda, a company that in the late 1980's was nowhere near the corporate juggernaut that it is today. Honda's eponymous founder, Soichiro Honda, was still involved in decision-making at the company during this time under the role of "Supreme Advisor," and it is debatable whether the NSX project in its infancy would have gone forward at all had he not still been pushing the company towards the spirit of technical achievement it had been known for in the prior decades. Mr. Honda was still so involved during this period, in fact, that when the first batch of 300 production NSXs were made with a version of the Acura badge he didn't like, he ordered all of the cars stopped at port in the USA, the new badges applied, and the offending incorrect badges sent back to Japan to be systematically destroyed. This was clearly a man who paid attention to the details, but I digress. Honda as a company devoted $140 million dollars to the NSX project ($250 million in today's money), half of which would go to developing the car, and the remainder of which would go to building a new state-of-the-art factory to assemble it. Honda's own goals for the NSX were actually exactly as most media stories portray the car today: to build a bona-fide exotic supercar, but one without the ergonomic and reliability penalties associated with that type of car. They didn't want to sacrifice the needs of the driver to the supposed demands of performance, demands that they felt didn't have to be there in making a truly top-level performance machine. The R&D team wanted a car that could hang with heavyweight exotics in a straight line, play with smaller and more lightweight sports cars in the curves, and cruise in serenity on the freeway. Essentially, they wanted it all, and the brief was to have a car that could do everything without compromise.

Hidden Integra Type R spends years behind secret barn wall

There's no telling what lengths that person might go to to protect the valuable commodity. In the case of collector cars, some might take out extra insurance, some might store it away in climate-controlled facilities, and others, such as the man in this story, build a secret storage room behind a false wall in a barn. The stowed 2001 Acura Integra Type R even had posters to look at. Featured by BarnFinds.com, this Type R is for sale in Canada via eBay for C $39,999.99, or about $30,000. It's not one of the baby-fresh untouched examples that have worked their way onto auction stages recently, but it has an extremely unique past. As seen in the photos, this Type R was stored in its own room behind a particle board wall in a barn. The room had its own lighting, posters on the wall, and the owner also used an additional fabric cover over Championship White exterior. It has 82,000 miles on it, and a few scratches and dings on the car prove it's spent some time in the wild. The seller says it's "all original paint except maybe for the front bumper." But it's an original car with a clean title and red seats (the seller claims Acura sold only 250 examples with red seats in Canada). According to Fox News, interested buyers have offered up to $7,500 just for the seats, but the owner refused to part it out. Bid on the entire car at eBay.

North American Car, Truck and SUV of the Year finalists revealed

The finalists for the 2023 North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year Awards were announced Thursday at the L.A. Auto Show. — The Acura Integra, Genesis Electrified G80 and Nissan Z made the cut in the car category. — The Ford F-150 Lightning, Chevy Silverado ZR2 and Lordstown Endurance advanced in trucks. — And the Cadillac Lyriq, Genesis GV60 and Kia EV6 advanced among utilities.  The winners will be announced Jan. 11 in Detroit.  The finalists underscored the industryÂ’s shift to electric vehicles, as all three utilities and two of the three trucks are EVs. The finalists were culled from a list of 26 semifinalists made up of three trucks, 10 cars and 16 utility vehicles that are new this year.  Notables that missed the cut include the Mercedes EQE, Subaru WRX and Toyota GR Corolla in cars; while the Honda CR-V, Kia Sportage and Rivian R1S were among the utes that did not advance. The three trucks are the only ones eligible this year and have advanced through the voting.  50 jurors who work for media outlets across North America vote three times over the course of the year to whittle down the field, which was originally 47 vehicles. Jurors also test the semifinalists at an October group event in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Honda Civic (car), Ford Maverick (truck) and Ford Bronco (utility vehicle) were the 2022 winners. Autoblog Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is a NACTOY juror.   Featured Gallery Ford F-150 Lightning View 48 Photos Green LA Auto Show Acura Cadillac Chevrolet Ford Genesis Kia Nissan Truck SUV NACTOY Lordstown Endurance