Mercedes to Honda

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manalishi

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Jul 5, 2007
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608
Have always been - and always will be - a fan of Sacco-era Mercedes, but after a whole succession of W201s and W124s, I've now defected to a car that I've lusted after for a long time. Got there by way of X1/9 and supercharged MR2 Mk1... this old thing:

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For some weird reason, I bought two:

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Although driving them is chalk/cheese compared to the W201/W124s (the silver one even has keep-fit steering!), there are many of the same qualities in the way this car was built. And I rather like the symmetry that Senna as a young driver showed what he could do in the 16V W201 and then later had a hand in tuning the chassis of this one.

Anyways, I still pop in here form time to time, and if you see some idiot waving at you in your W124/W126/W201/R107 from a low slung Honda, it'll be me. :)
 
Oh that is lovely !
 
I've had various hondas for ten years and have lusted after an NSX, if you see an R230 waving at you like a nupity its me lol
 
Gorgeous!

But where's the rust?
 
IRRC they have some weird suspension settings which gives them very user friendly handling characteristics but leads to very asymmetric tyre wear at the rear? Just something to aware of----- its normal for the model not a fault . Lovely cars.
 
Funny that you mention torque. :) I had the supercharged MR2 before this, and the SC gave that not much more HP, but quite a bit more torque than the NA 1.6 engine. But I found that more torque changes the way you drive it. No need to change down - it really is like having a bigger engine.

Somehow, in a mid-engined car with a rev-happy engine, lots of low-down torque feels a bit ... well ... wrong. More relaxed, less involving? The sound of the V6 getting revvy is very addictive, although the leptons arrive quite quickly.

No rust...? Actually there's some alu corrosion on the green one's roof (stone chip and some under-the-paint reaction. Needs some attention.

Rear tyres - I'm aware of the likely wear rates from the existing history. Gulp! And what can happen if you don't pay attention (e.g. NSX kills light post , sad day :eek:)

As for "Why 2"? I just couldn't decide. :dk: The green one is a targa with PAS, the silver one is a stiffer coupe without PAS (the one that won the original handling awards). I prevaricated for a bit, and then bought both. Her Indoors only knows about one of them. :eek:
 
Lovely, absolutely lovely.

I wanted one of these so badly, was gutted when I found out I didn't fit...so went and bought a new Civic FD2 to make up for it.

The "torque" myth always rears it's head. When you look closely my Civic was no less torquey than a cooking 2 litre Mondeo, but in comparison to the banzai top end it'll always feel...flat.
 
Two?! :eek: Fair play! Love NSXs.

Before the MB I had a Championship White edition Type R. Completely agree with Doodle: No issue with talk at all. Was a lovely engine and way more character than all the 2 litre turbos. An NSX must be epic.

Enjoy :thumb:
 
I prevaricated for a bit, and then bought both. Her Indoors only knows about one of them. :eek:

Ha ha.

Last time I bought two cars I couldn't get to the bank so Mrs Dm had to buy them for me.
I think it gives her a sense of belonging...
 
Not one NSX but two! Just plain awesome, well done & enjoy.
 
After owning an S2000 for 6 years an NSX is one itch I'd like to scratch, I still miss the thrill of watching the rev counter spin to 9k. You don't miss the torque if you keep the engine on the boil. Performance Hondas have trick suspension so a good geo set up is a critical and can make all the difference to the individual feel to the car. Try Chris at Centre Gravity. Wish individual suspension set up was something I could get done on the SLK.

RR
 
Awesome, i love the nsx, I think I remember drooling over the green one on PH?
Good investment I reckon, should only go up in value.
 
Well, it wasn't through any shortcoming of the NSX, but after about 30 years of sheer want, I could not resist:

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Replica, of course.

I've driven nothing else that has such immediate responses: steering, throttle, brakes. It's only about 950kg and has 240bhp from the Alfa V6. No driver aids at all.

It's... raw. Windows that pivot downwards a teeny bit add plenty of wind noise but somehow no discernible inward ventilation. So little sound deadening that after just 1hr driving at a modest cruising speed, turning the engine off made me feel as if I'd gone deaf. There's no heater, but the heat emanating from the pipes running to/from the front radiator is more than enough.

In storage for Winter and with some jobs to do before using it to pop my track day cherry next Spring.
 
I was surprised how different the NSX feels to the Stratos. They both have 3.0 24V V6 engines, not dissimilar power to weight ratios, and both are set up to be very quick on the road/track (in the hands of a good driver, at least).

But where the NSX is compliant and comfortable, the Stratos is demanding and just a little bit crazy. It's like a terrier puppy on speed, versus the NSX's obedient and protective greyhound.

The Petrolicious video explains the Stratos' nature very well: The Uncompromising Legendary Lancia Stratos | Articles

I'll definitely get some track tuition in the Stratos. I also desperately need someone who knows how they should handle to advise on suspension/steering/geo. There's a fair bit of what I think is bump steer at the moment. And that adds another level of entertainment on bumpy B roads...!
 
Yours is a replica Stratos, so probably not a well behaved as the real thing, though due to the nature of if being designed for quick turn in, it will have been designed to be skittish.
 
Love the NSX!!
 
I came up against an NSX a couple of days ago.

It was nice apart from looking like an expensive Prelude.
 

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