How Honda Challenged Ferrari with the NSX
The unlikely supercar killer Ferrari is a name that evokes passion, performance, and prestige in the automotive world. For decades, the Italian marque has been synonymous with the pinnacle of sports car engineering and design. But in the late 1980s, a new challenger emerged from an unlikely source: Honda. Honda was already a successful manufacturer of motorcycles, economy cars, and Formula One engines, but it had never built a supercar before. It decided to take on Ferrari with a bold project: the NSX, which stood for New Sports eXperimental. The NSX was Honda’s attempt to create a car that was as fast, agile, and beautiful as a Ferrari, but also more reliable, comfortable, and affordable. The NSX was a radical departure from Honda’s previous products. It had a mid-engine layout, a lightweight aluminum body, and a high-revving 3.0 L C30A V6 engine with variable valve timing (VTEC). It also had a sleek and aerodynamic design, inspired by the F-16 fighter jet. Honda’s engineers spent yea...