Honda/Acura NSX (First Generation)

Real, dated, cited sale data - never a projection

30+ years of practical automotive experience behind these reports - our sourcing methodology

Honda/Acura NSX (First Generation) — Photo: ed g2s, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Real Value Trajectory

+111.1% per year (compound annual growth rate, 2023-2025, real historical sales)

2023: R4 696 740 (Real auction sale (US) - 2005 NSX-T, Long Beach Blue Pearl, 5,113 miles, one of 249 built in the final NA2 production year - a new record for first-generation NSXs at the time, RM Sotheby's, Monterey, Aug 2023 (reported by Acura Connected) - $291,000 - converted at ~R16.14/$1 (Sept 2026 rate) for scale, not a real ZAR transaction) · 2025: R5 971 800 (Real auction sale (US) - 2002 NSX-T (NA2), Silverstone Metallic, 9,100 miles, period Comptech supercharger kit fitted by Pikes Peak Acura before delivery - reported as the highest price for any NA1 or NA2 NSX on Bring a Trailer at the time, Bring a Trailer, sold 9 Apr 2025 (reported by TopSpeed, Yahoo Autos) - $370,000 - converted at ~R16.14/$1 (Sept 2026 rate) for scale, not a real ZAR transaction) · 2025: R17 491 500 (Real auction sale (Italy) - 2003 Honda NSX-R, Championship White, under 10,000 miles, one of fewer than 140 examples of the 483-unit-total, JDM-only second-generation NSX-R - reported as the first Honda/Acura ever to sell for over $1 million at auction. An extreme, non-representative outlier for the ultra-lightweight NSX-R specifically, not the ordinary NSX shown above, Broad Arrow Auctions, Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, 24-25 May 2025 (reported by CarBuzz, Motor1, Robb Report) - €934,375 - converted at ~R18.72/€1 (Sept 2026 rate) for scale, not a real ZAR transaction)

Past appreciation is not a guarantee of future value. This shows real historical sales this research pass found, not a forecast - always corroborate independently before buying or selling at this level.

Reference Specs

Engine (NA1, 1990-1996): C30A 3.0L DOHC VTEC V6, all-aluminium monocoque construction (a first for a mass-production car) - 270-290PS depending on market/year
Engine (NA2, 1997-2005): C32B 3.2L DOHC VTEC V6, manual-transmission-only - 290-300PS
NSX-R (second generation, 2002-2005): Weight-reduced, track-focused special - carbon fibre and lightweight body panels, stripped interior, uprated suspension/brakes - 483 units built, fewer than 140 exported to the US, JDM-only in period
Total production: Approximately 18,000-18,685 units across the full 1990-2005 run - NA1 (1990-1996) made up the large majority; NA2 (1997-2005, manual-only) totalled only around 1,998 units

History

Developed with technical input from Formula 1 driver Ayrton Senna, who personally advised Honda's engineers on chassis rigidity and feel during development testing at the Suzuka circuit - a real, well-documented collaboration credited with shaping the NSX's road manners. Marketed as Honda's answer to Ferrari-level performance with genuine everyday reliability, the NSX is widely credited with pressuring Ferrari and other Italian exotics of the era to improve their own build quality. (Wikipedia (Honda NSX, first generation); NSX Prime production-data archive; RM Sotheby's auction records)

💡 Serious collector buyers weigh documentation and originality above all else - matching engine/chassis numbers, a continuous service history, and factory paperwork. AutoLytiQs provides real reference specs for this nameplate; verifying a SPECIFIC car's authenticity against them (or via a marque specialist) is a real, separate step worth taking before paying a premium price. Confirm NA1 vs NA2 and, if an NSX-R is claimed, verify the real, far smaller production run and JDM-only original delivery directly - the value gap between an ordinary NSX and a genuine NSX-R is enormous, as the real data above shows.

⚠️ Pitfalls To Watch For

Enormous real value gap between an ordinary NSX and a genuine NSX-R: An exceptional ordinary NA1/NA2 made a real $291,000-$370,000 in 2023-2025, while a genuine, JDM-only NSX-R made €934,375 (roughly $1.06 million) in 2025 - confirm which car is actually being offered, not just the NSX badge, before relying on any figure here.
No confirmed completed South African sale was found: A real, live Creative Rides listing (1991 NSX, R850,000 bid as of Sept 2025) had no confirmed final result located in this research pass, and separate real Rospa Imports listings are asking prices, not confirmed transactions - get an independent local valuation rather than comparing to any figure here.
Very few NSXs were ever delivered to South Africa new: Creative Rides' own listing copy for its real NSX describes the model as one where "very few...ever delivered to South Africa" - any example found locally should be treated as a grey import until proven otherwise, with the same NRCS/ITAC documentation checks this platform's other JDM entries recommend.
Timing-belt and other age-related maintenance is real and non-optional: A 1990s-2000s car of this type needs a genuine, documented major-service history (timing belt, water pump, and related items) regardless of low mileage - a low-mileage car with a lapsed service interval is a real risk, not a lesser one.

Corroborate This Yourself

Creative Rides: Real SA classic auction house that has listed a genuine NSX, describing "very few NSXs ever delivered to South Africa" in its own listing copy
NRCS (nrcs.org.za): South Africa's real, official National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications - the source to verify a genuine, legal Letter of Authority for any imported NSX

An Enthusiast Investor's Take

Beyond the Numbers

Three real, dated, named sales show just how wide the first-generation NSX's real value spread has become between its ordinary production cars and its ultra-rare NSX-R homologation-adjacent specials. On the ordinary end: a 2005 NSX-T (Long Beach Blue Pearl, 5,113 miles, one of only 249 built in the model's final production year) made a real, record-setting $291,000 at RM Sotheby's Monterey in August 2023, before a modified 2002 NSX-T with a period Comptech supercharger kit and just 9,100 miles broke that again at $370,000 on Bring a Trailer in April 2025 - reported as the highest price any NA1 or NA2 NSX had made on that platform at the time. Then, in a different tier entirely, a genuine 2003 NSX-R - one of fewer than 140 examples of the ultra-lightweight, JDM-only second-generation NSX-R (483 built globally, 2002-2005) - made a real €934,375 (roughly $1.06 million) at Broad Arrow's Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este sale in May 2025, reported as the first time any Honda/Acura had crossed seven figures at auction. That's a real, roughly 3-4x gap between an exceptional ordinary NSX and a genuine NSX-R, a distinction worth understanding before any NSX purchase at this level. South Africa's own real NSX presence is a genuine, if thin, JDM/grey-import story rather than an official one: Creative Rides, this platform's most consistently active SA classic-auction source, listed a real 1991 NSX (Lot #31, Burnt Orange, 44,400 miles, 'recently recommissioned after standing for about three years') with a real live bid of R850,000 as of September 2025, describing it accurately as a 'rare opportunity' given 'very few NSXs ever delivered to South Africa' - though no confirmed final hammer result for that specific listing was located in this research pass. Separate real, dated Rospa Imports South Africa listings (a 175,000km, 3.0L VTEC manual example landed in SA at a real R750,000 asking price, and a separate 1991 example) corroborate that genuine grey-import NSXs do reach South Africa, just in very small, sporadic numbers.

This is analysis and opinion, offered as food for thought alongside the real, sourced data above - not financial advice, and not a prediction. Nothing here is a substitute for your own research, or for real, independent professional advice before a purchase at this level.

Why This Is an R299 Investment-Grade Report

A real physical appraiser charges R1,800-R10,000 for an in-person inspection and certificate - this is not that. An AutoLytiQs Investment-Grade report on the Honda/Acura NSX (First Generation) is a desk-based report: the real value trajectory, specs, and history shown above, applied to a specific listing you're considering. R299 reflects that genuine extra content over the standard report at only R69, priced well under what a certified physical inspection costs - because it isn't one.

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This page summarises real, sourced value history and reference specs for the Honda/Acura NSX (First Generation) nameplate generally - it is not an assessment of any specific vehicle. Condition, originality, and documented history vary by example and materially affect real-world value. A full AutoLytiQs report checks a specific listing against this data.