Acura NSX #001 sells for $1.2 million

Sun, Jan 31 2016

When the new Acura NSX hits showrooms in the Spring, it will cost at least $156,000 in "base" spec, or as much as $205k fully loaded. But at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale Saturday, one notable buyer paid a record $1.2 million for the privilege of ordering the very first one. That works out to a good six or seven times the list price, but fortunately it's all going to a good cause.

The winning bid for the very first production example of the new Acura NSX was placed by none other than Rick Hendrick, a man best known for his NASCAR team but also for other projects like the modified Jeeps his company is pitching to the US Army. His $1.2 million will allow him to order the first one off the line, to his specifications. Proceeds are earmarked towards the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation and Camp Southern Ground in Georgia, which focuses on at-risk kids, children of military families, and those with neurobehavioral disorders.

Hendrick's winning bid marks the highest price that Barrett-Jackson has ever recorded for a VIN 001 vehicle. And make no mistake about it: it has handled a lot of them. This weekend alone also saw the first new Chevy COPO Camaro raise $300,000 for United Way, and Jay Leno's 2006 Ford F-150 Harley-Davidson edition (also the first of its kind) bring in $200k for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

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FIRST 2017 ACURA NSX SCORES RECORD AUCTION PRICE OF $1.2 MILLION AT BARRETT-JACKSON

- Final hammer price of $1.2 million sets record auction price for a designated VIN 001 vehicle
- All proceeds go to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation and Camp Southern Ground

Jan 29, 2016 - SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- At the auctioneer's final call, the next-generation 2017 Acura NSX supercar tonight smashed the record for a vehicle auction at Barrett-Jackson for the highest-selling designated vehicle identification number (VIN) 001 with the final hammer price set at $1.2 million. Winning bidder Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports and founder of Hendrick Automotive Group, has earned the right to custom order the first production model of Acura's highly anticipated NSX, which comes to market this spring. All proceeds of the auction will go to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, based in North Carolina, and Camp Southern Ground in Georgia, the passion project of Grammy® Award-winning music artist Zac Brown.

"It was amazing to witness such generosity of spirit and passion for the new NSX," said Jon Ikeda, vice president and general manager of Acura. "Mr. Hendrick will have the great satisfaction of owning and driving the very first next-generation NSX, and making a difference in the lives of thousands of children."

Customer ordering for the 2017 NSX will begin on Feb. 25 at authorized NSX retailers, in concert with the launch of the Acura NSX on-line vehicle configurator on Acura.com.

By Noah Joseph