It may come as a shock to many snooty U.S. Acura owners, but as today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe NSX proves, their cars were nothing more than Hondas in a lot of other markets. Let’s see if this JDM NSK with its right-hand drive is also right-ly priced.
Yesterday’s 1991 BMW 535i was looking for a forever home. That, or to be ripped apart and sold piecemeal, whichever would end its apparently horrific present existence. Look, hand-me-downs are bad enough when you consider the finite lifespan of any product. Hand-me-downs that have been crapped in and left for someone else to deal with are the worst.
Despite that craptacular history, the Bimmer seemed to stir enough hope that at its pocket lint price it took away a 70% Nice Price win, this week’s second such tilt. Maybe the old girl’s still got some life left in her after all, at least enough for a couple of laps of LeMons. See, happy ending after all.
So, here’s a question for you: are there any NSXs left in Japan? I ask because what we have here today is this 1990 Honda NSX, a recent import from Japan that is apparently taking advantage of the 25-year rule. Not only that but there’s this one, and this one, and probably even more out there that I’m too lazy to find. What I do find is that it’s hard to believe that Honda sold all that many NSXs in Japan over the course of its existence. After all, it’s a very small island.
Okay, so maybe they did sell more than a few. Still, there seems to be a profusion of JDM NSXs here in America these days, and it’s not even spring!
What do you get when you go home market for your NSX? Well, first off the car is right-hand drive. That means that your passengers have to shout SHOGUN! instead of SHOTGUN! when they’re getting inside, and they do so form the other side. It also means that the window person at the drive-thru is going to have to pitch like Verlander when delivering your food and beverage.
The other major difference with this car is that it’s completely branded as a Honda, not an Acura. At the time this car was new, Acura was unknown in Japan, having been introduced only in America as a means to get people to spend more money for Hondas. That means that you get Honda badging not just on parts like the emissions sticker and engine casting but also a Local H on the nose, tail light center, and steering wheel hub.
People have said that the NSX was a supercar that drove like an Accord. Now you can feel all the more so at home behind that H-emblazoned wheel. The automatic transmission probably doesn’t help either, but at least you won’t have to mess up your muscle memory trying to row a five-speed with your left hand. Left-dominant folks might just get their rocks off here, however.
The rest of the car looks to be in pretty good shape. The paint is darker-than-the-inside-of-a-well-digger’s-ass black and the aluminum bodywork underneath that seems to be free of any major issues. It’s also notable that the car seems to be stock outside of the aftermarket alloys. The ad notes that it is “OEM w/ some nice upgrades” which seems to mean the wheels, the stereo and a pop-up nav unit.
The interior is likewise serviceable and showing little age. The ad claims that the car “runs & drives great” and at only 128Km showing on the clock you would hope it still does.
Now, there seem to be a bunch of these cars coming to America right now, perhaps to get in before Trump builds his sea wall. This one looks to be one of the nicest and is not priced ridiculously. The question however, is whether all the paperwork for the car has been completed and it’s ready for the road (outside of California that is) or whether work still needs to be done there. The ad is a little vague on if the car’s import documentation is done, or if the seller is only providing the paperwork for finalizing the car’s U.S. plating.
Let’s say it’s ready to rock and wouldn’t just be laughed out of the DMV. What might that be worth? Well, the ad asked $34,800 so perhaps we could start there. What do you think, could this Honda NSX pull that kind of asking now that it’s in America? Or, if you’re spending that sort of dough, do you want LHD and the proper upscale badge on your NSX?
You decide!
San Francisco Bay Area Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a fixed-price tip, and remember to include your Kinja handle.