The NSX, launched in 1990, was remarkable for its low roofline of only 46": a bare six inches taller than the Ford GT40 race car. The GT–R, on the other hand, is a full eight inches taller than the NSX.

Under the aluminum, the difference is even bigger. The GT–R is 850 pounds heavier than the NSX, which weighs in at 2,950 lb: an increase of 22 percent. There is, of course, an even greater increase in power, with the Nissan’s twin-turbo V6 producing almost twice the horsepower of the Honda’s V6 VTEC, with a resulting climb in power to weight from 216 bhp/ton to 277 bhp/ton.

But while the NSX our Wes Siler reviewed for Jalopnik is the balls-out Spoon version with 420 HP, his words about lightness and simplicity are probably true of the original as well:

[The] NSX-R GT doesn’t just feel as good as I expected, but better than I could ever have hoped. Unlike other classic super cars, the passing of time has been kind to the NSX. It suffers from neither high weight nor over complication of modern super cars, but adapts their up-to-date running gear, brakes and tires to give itself modern performance.

The trend is much the same with sporty roadsters. Witness the 1964 Honda S600 versus the 1999 Honda S2000:

Relentless growth in size is not limited to the Japanese car industry. If you were to compare Ferrari’s entry-level car from 1968 to its successor 31 years on, this is what you’d see:

The rather lithe and low Ferrari 360 Modena is practically a battleship when compared to the little Dino 246 GT.

And so on.

Photo Credit: Honda fórum (NSX’s and GT–R), VWvortex Forums (Honda S600 and S2000) and the author (Ferraris)

What was it? Ferrari 360 Modena
How Fast? 130 MPH
What happened? The moron driver was showing off for his girlfriend in France when he lost control and hit power posts, splitting the car in two. Amazingly, both survived the accident.

What was it? BMW 528i
How Fast? 135 MPH
What happened? This is what happens when a tire blows at high speeds. The car rolled, eventually coming to a stop by way of a concrete pillar.

What was it? Mercedes Benz SLK
How Fast?135 MPH
What happened? There's not much left of an open-topped SLK after it hit a tree in Germany at speed.

What was it? Chevrolet Corvette C5
How Fast? 140 MPH
What happened? Despite being a high performance car, taking a Corvette up to 140 MPH on a Texas highway is a recipe for disaster, as evidenced here.

What was it? TVR T350C
How Fast? 140 MPH
What happened? This South African crash is pretty brutal. The driver lost control at 140 MPH, hit a concrete barrier, and smashed into an overpass. You know a crash is violent when even the wheels are shattered.

What was it? Lamborghini Murcielago
How Fast? 150 MPH
What happened? After owning the car for six days, this Egyptian driver decided to take it out to the desert and go for broke. Broke is what he got when a truck cut him off and he rolled the car, though he did make it out alive.

What was it? Ferrari Enzo
How Fast? 160 MPH
What happened? The driver in this crash wasn't so lucky and died after crashing at 160 MPH, spreading the car out over a huge debris field in Italy.

What was it? Mercedes McLaren SLR
How Fast? 165 MPH
What happened? The SLR's 22 year old Qatari driver was showing off for his passenger when he lost control, rolling the car into the desert. This one was also fatal.

Head over to Wrecked Exotics for the two fastest supercar accidents on the list. One you've probably not seen and another you're definitely familiar with. [Wrecked Exotics]

According to Drive.com.au, Ferrari's CEO admitted the company reached out to Top Gear to get them to "stoppa da crap" when it comes to the next show.

Speaking at the Geneva motor show, Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa said it was important to protect the brand and, as a consequence, the company had spoken to the Top Gear Live show's organisers from the BBC.

A spokesman for Ferrari said Top Gear Live had admitted to using fake Ferraris.

"We asked them to change it … for the Hong Kong [Top Gear Live] show (the last stop on the world tour)," said the spokesman. "We said ‘please use real Ferraris'."

The organizers for Top Gear Live said they'd be using drift cars, not fakes, for the Hong Kong show, thus removing the problem. Felisa was later heard saying "Nut up, this is Top Gear, not Top Pussy."

[Drive.com.au]

The precursor to the current Ferrari F430, the Ferrari 360 Modena housed an Italian-tuned V8 good for 400 bhp @ 8500 rpm and 275 lb-ft of torque @ 4750 rpm. The F131 90° V8 had a bore and stroke of 85mm by 79mm with a total displacement of 3.6 liters singing one hell of a sweet song. The Challenge Stradale models carried the same engine but it was blessed with 25 more of those thoroughbred Italian horses for a total tally of 425 bhp @ 8500 and the same 275 lb-ft of torque as the standard 360 models.

The Sound Of Angels Singing:
It was a sweet motor indeed, but like most of the Italian breed this particular one needed a little maintenance done. Thankfully, master craftsman Luigi at Universal Autosports decided to snap some pics before he put the whole assembly back together and, as you can see above, it's a beautiful piece of work.

[via youtube, teamspeed]

It looks like the Yank Me Crank Me pedal-pumping fetish hasn't died, though it has moved upscale. This is safe-for-work unless you work somewhere exceptionally prudish. [Lexeed via Break]

[Tic Rac via Carscoop]

Given the choice, we'd much rather have an Enzo's V12, but the 360's V8 would still be great fun to play with. We bet there's a way to mount it in the middle of an Alfa Romeo Brera. Perhaps hanging out the back of a Fiat 500? Or you could just do like the current owner and have it on display on the second floor of your home.
[ebay via Autofiends]

Oh look, another Ferrari crash. Maybe we should have run this Monday when we were having our Maximum Ferrari Crash Morning but now that we look at it, maybe the owner of this 360 Modena just wanted to take it for a little swim. Or maybe he just couldn't find a car wash open late enough. [Autogespot]

The Ferrambo may not be the greatest name ever, but it serves up a stout 280 points on the Jalopnik scale, and for good reason. How many other tiny, bright red, two door station wagons with a mid-mounted 3.6 L V8 mill out of a Ferrari 360 Modena have you seen lately? Of Course it's stupidly well built, but the details are really what puts this car over the top. The builders at Divers Street Rods went so far as to swipe the Ferrari text and use it to call out the car's name everywhere it was tastefully necessary. Under hood there is custom fitted leather luggage instead of the original wimpy inline 6. The the seats are custom covered buckets and the rear seats... there are no rear seats, only engine. Here's something really cool, the rear windows rotate about 5 degrees open with the turn of the ignition to provide a little venting for that beastly engine. Yes indeed, Troy Trepanier may have had a cool car with last years winner, First Love, but this year's winner is a hell of a lot more Jalopnik in our book. Divers Street Rods

Ferrari Burned — Known journalist fights for his life

The passenger is dead and the driver hospitalized in critical condition after a Ferrari Modena 360 hit an overpass in Mokotow neighborhood of Warsaw. The car was driven by Maciej Zientarksi, as found out by RMF FM. The known automobile journalist is in critical condition. His friend who was driving with him, Jaroslaw Zabieg, a journalist for Super Express did not survive.

Zientarski, son of a known automobile journalist and expert Wlodzimierz Zientarski, hosted (among others) the program V Max on Polsat digital cable channel and is co-creator of the show "The Passionate Ones". The tragedy took place at around 10pm on Pulawska Street. The Ferrari, driven by Maciej Zientarski, was launched off the ground on an uneven part of the street where the speed limit is 50 km/h. The car, thrown off its path, went across a few meters of grass and ended up hitting the supporting beam for the overpass leading to Ursynow.

The car separated into two parts. One of them was completely burned. The bodies of the journalists were thrown from the car. The Super Express journalist, Jaroslaw Zabiega, died on the spot. Maciej Zientarski is fighting for his life in a hostpital and is undergoing multiple surgeries.

Tomas Glowacki, the press agent for the Warsaw fire department informed us that two engines were sent to fight the fire.

"The patient received multiple injures. I just cant tell you what his outcome will be. The case is dynamic, it could change at any moment" said Dr. Andrzej Chmura. "We don't ourselves know what can now occur." He added.

Dr. Chmura said: "We are trying to do everything that needs to be done. The operation was in the area of his stomach cavity and the patient will require at least one more surgery. He has spine injuries, but we will get to those after we stabilize him."

With those figures in mind, the owners are planning to make a run at the record for the longest Ferrari and the fastest limo in April. Not bad considering we only found out about the Ferrari Limo only about a year ago. If you live in England, you and seven of your closest friends can rent it out for the princely sum of 700 quid an hour. Have fun doing really, really big donuts. [via The Daily Mail]