Honda launched the NSX sports car in 1990, with development input from racing driver Ayrton Senna.
The NSX was conceived as a mid-engined sports car that could challenge established European brands while remaining reliable and usable every day. Honda developed its lightweight aluminum body and chassis, and the production car used a naturally aspirated V6 engine with Honda’s VTEC variable-valve technology.
Ayrton Senna, then one of Formula One’s leading drivers, helped evaluate prototype handling at Honda’s test facilities. His feedback contributed to revisions aimed at improving chassis stiffness and cornering behavior. Senna did not design the car alone, but his involvement became an important part of the NSX’s development story.
The model was initially sold as the Honda NSX in Japan and as the Acura NSX in North America. The name is often expanded as “New Sportscar eXperimental,” although the badge itself is usually written simply as NSX.