There are a lot of things people can, and do, say about the current Acura NSX. It’s “not as cool as the old one,” you’ll hear, or the front end “looks like it came off of a generic coupe.” From the outside, it might seem like Acura’s milking an old nameplate for $160,000 a pop, minus big rebates to entice more sales, just because it can. Who wouldn’t, after all?
But after eight minutes in the 573-horsepower, twin-turbocharged V6 hybrid NSX—a strawberry-red example from the 2019 model year with a carbon-fiber spoiler and a $10,600 upgrade to carbon-ceramic rotors—I have none of those thoughts. In fact, I could only make a few variations of the same sentence.
(Full disclosure: Acura tossed Jalopnik an NSX to take out for a track day at Monticello Motor Club, and that Jalopnik did. It was fun.)
“How was it?” a coworker asked as I brought the NSX back in from my few laps on track at Monticello Motor Club, where about half of the Jalopnik staff spent the day last week. I was so absorbed in how much fun those laps were that I’d almost forgotten about the severe food poisoning I’d had all day, aside from the ever-present need to hurl in the back of my throat.
I didn’t have time to formulate a bunch of detailed opinions, other than that the NSX was jumpier than a scared rabbit on the throttle—which is to be expected, in a hybrid with almost 600 HP—and that the brakes would’ve probably been strong enough to stop my food poisoning, if built for that kind of stoppage. (We were all passing the car around that day and I spent half of my time swimming in Pepto Bismol anyway, so I was happy to at least get the time I got in it.)
“This thing rips,” I responded, without any irony. I cannot remember which coworker it was, perhaps partly due to how enthralled I was with the car and perhaps due to how all I could think about was getting to the bathroom.
“Did you like the NSX?” another faceless coworker asked.
“That thing RIPS,” I said, using emphasis to slightly differentiate that sentence from the last one. It probably didn’t come out quite as differently as intended, but I tried.
“That car was flying out there!” another coworker said.
“I know! It absolutely riiiiiiiiips.”
“HOW WAS THE NSX?” a friend texted.
“Freaking RIPS.”
Sure, it isn’t a lengthy description, but it completely encapsulates how much fun the current NSX is to take out on a track and throw around, even for only a few minutes. During that time, you don’t obsess over how it might not be as cool as its predecessor, or how its front end might be a little more bland than a $160,000 supercar buyer would want. None of that stuff matters because you’re having too much fun to care, which should be the goal for any car meant to do more than just get a person from one place to another.
Stop overlooking the modern Acura NSX already, no matter how much your own nostalgia or the forums are pressuring you. The thing absolutely rips, and that’s what matters.