Origin Of A Species: Watch Two Decades Of Acura NSX Evolution

The original Acura NSX put Honda's engineering acumen on display, and the brand's first-ever supercar came out of the gate capable of challenging the contemporary machines from Ferrari and Porsche. In a new video, Cars Evolution charts the model's changes through the first generation and up to the newly updated, second-gen coupe.

The unfortunate news for Americans was that Honda brought very few special editions of the NSX to the United States. The 1999 Alex Zanardi Edition was a notable exception. The model commemorated Zanardi's back-to-back championships for the Honda-powered Chip Ganassi Racing team in the CART series. Zanardi received the first car, and the automaker sold 50 units to the American public. Tweaks over the standard NSX included manual steering, a lighter battery, and Y-spoke BBS wheels, and these changes sliced off 149 pounds (68 kilograms) from the already lightweight car.

One of the more fascinating and rare NSX's that Cars Evolution highlights in this video is the NSX-R GT. This version was exclusive to the Japanese market and was a homologation special for Honda to go racing in the Japanese GT Championship (JGTC), now known as Super GT. Limited to just five units, the car featured a giant air intake rising over the roof, but this piece wasn't functional for the road-going version.

Acura recently unveiled a very slight update for the second-gen NSX. The biggest mechanical changes are dampers that are 26 percent stiffer up front and 19 percent stiffer at the rear, which allegedly shaves two seconds off a lap around the Suzuka Circuit. The company also tweaks the exterior by making the front grille garnish body color and adding a high-gloss finish to the grille surround, front air intake mesh, and rear bumper outlet mesh. Acura also adds a new Thermal Orange Pearl exterior color and Indigo blue leather upholstery.

Rumors suggest that the NSX's evolution isn't over yet. Reports indicate that a hardcore NSX Type R might be on the way, and Honda is allegedly considering an open-roof variant, too.