Description
Offered for sale is arguably one of the finest, lowest mileage 1991 Acura NSXs in the country, an impeccable, one owner, early production, completely original example with only 2,590 miles and finished in striking Formula Red (color code R-77) over an Ivory leather interior with Black accents.
Following the incredible amount of publicity that Honda generated for the NSX, demand far exceeded the initial wave of cars arriving in U.S. showrooms. Each U.S. Acura dealer received one car at a time and, wanting to make sure the new model remained as visible as possible, Honda mandated that even if a car was sold, the buyer couldn’t take delivery until a replacement car had arrived at the dealership. The exclusivity this policy created caused dealers to successfully mark the cars up dramatically – a 1991 NSX stickered for $60,600, but this example was sold to its original and only owner for $85,000, more than $150k in today’s dollars.
The car lived up to the hype: Ayrton Senna’s involvement in developing the NSX undoubtedly helped raise the car’s profile, but it wasn’t just a publicity stunt – the NSX both met Senna’s standards and fulfilled Honda’s desire to help define the fledgling Acura brand, a true sports car that was all-at-once thrilling from behind the wheel, but also luxurious and comfortable. Even today, the combination of the high revving 3.0L V6 VTEC, crisp shifting 5-speed manual gearbox, precise handling and fantastic ride quality make for a grin-inducing driving experience. And that’s without even mentioning the rousing F-16-inspired styling.
This example, Serial No. MT000532, was the 469th NSX produced and was sold new by Gold Coast Acura in Ventura, CA to a local Santa Barbara doctor and car collector. Taking delivery in October of 1990, this NSX joined the doctor’s permanent collection, sharing a garage with his Lamborghini Miura, De Tomaso Mangusta, Ferrari Testarossa, multiple Porsches and a bevy of other interesting marques and models. Like the rest of the doctor’s cars, the NSX was enjoyed, but only sparingly, until roughly a decade ago when advanced age and illness caused him to leave the cars dormant, always garaged and well cared for. We were recently enlisted to oversee the mechanical recommissioning and sale of the car, and now it’s ready for another devoted owner to enjoy.
Upon receiving the car, we had it thoroughly gone through and sorted mechanically by a local independent shop with ample NSX experience. Because of the doctor’s fastidiousness when it came to properly preparing the car for storage, it actually required very little to be re-awoken. Aside from all of the basic service items, the only significant repair that was necessary was the replacement of the A.B.S. accumulator with a new OEM unit, which (even on a wholesale basis through Acura) cost more than $3,400. All said, recent service receipts total +/-$6,400 and the car is now mechanically excellent, starting effortlessly, pulling strongly and smoothly through each of the gears and driving, braking and handling straight and true. While we’d of course suggest replacing them for road use, the original Yokohama tires have been left on the car in case its next owner wishes to maintain 100% originality.
The car’s condition is unsurprisingly impressive, representative of an extremely low mileage example that was well cared for and properly stored. The car has never been in any accidents or had any paintwork – everything is factory original. It presents as effectively brand new in nearly every way, so rather than detail its long list of positives, we’ll address the very few, exceedingly minor imperfections:
- There’s an extremely soft small depression on the driver side front fender. When we say extremely soft, that’s not an exaggeration – try as we might, we couldn’t get it to show up in any photographs and it’s unlikely that most people would notice it if we’d not pointed it out.
- There’s a small scuff on the driver side leather wrapped door pull.
- There’s a very small, hardly perceptible scuff on the center armrest (which doubles as the car phone compartment’s cover).
- There’s a very light amount of wear on the driver side seat bolster.
- There’s some minimal scuffing on both of the fabric door speaker covers.
Each of these imperfections is documented with photos, and while each of them could easily be fixed or improved, we felt it important to leave them as is to maintain the car’s complete originality. All are negligible and in no way detract from the car’s overall appeal, which is substantial.
The NSX comes with its original window sticker, pre-delivery inspection documents, all original books and manuals, all original keys (including the Monel key), original service records, original registration documents, a clean Carfax report, NSX sheepskin seat covers, an NSX car cover that seems like it may never have been used and all of the unused tire changing tools and original space-saver spare tire. The original NSX car phone also remains with the car, along with all of its manuals, and the era specific CA vanity license plates “NSX XLR8” will also be included.
This is a uncommon opportunity to acquire what is undoubtedly one of the finest, lowest mileage NSXs in the country, one that checks all the right boxes: only 2,590 original miles, one California collector owner from new, thoroughly documented, entirely original, mechanically excellent and cosmetically immaculate. Whether you’re a seasoned collector or just a Japanese sports car enthusiast, this NSX deserves your serious consideration.
