Previewed at the 1989 Chicago Auto Show and going on sale in September 1990, the NSX two-door midship sports car would become a byword for performance; it was the first mass production car to use an entirely aluminum monocoque body, honed to near aerodynamic perfection and weighing a mere 1,350kg. Power was provided by a 3-liter V6 DOHC engine with Honda's proprietary VTEC valve timing system, and paired with a five-speed manual transmission this 280hp unit brought about a 0-400 meter time in the 13-second range. It used four-wheel independent double wishbone suspension front and rear, and its ABS, TCS (traction control) and SRS airbags showed that drive safety was also a priority. It is little wonder that the NSX became one of the benchmarks in sports car design.
