1997 Acura SLX gets 350 actual Acura horsepower for Radwood

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1997 Acura SLX gets 350 actual Acura horsepower for Radwood originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 5 Dec 2019 11:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2002 Acura NSX fondly remembered in MotorWeek’s retro clip

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Look back on the 2002 Acura NSX with MotorWeek just as the 2017 model is about to debut. Not surprisingly, the show has lots of good things to say about the old sports coupe.

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2002 Acura NSX fondly remembered in MotorWeek's retro clip originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 17 Mar 2016 18:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MotorWeek remembers the 1993 Acura Legend coupe

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MotorWeek looks back on the 1993 Acura Legend Coupe for a Retro Review to remember the brand's big GT.

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MotorWeek remembers the 1993 Acura Legend coupe originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 24 Sep 2015 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorweek goes retro with ’80s hot hatch shootout

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Motorweek 1986 Hot Hatch Test

Motorweek's decades of history on television make it the perfect medium to look back into the automotive past and see how things are different now. It recently added old road test videos to its YouTube channel of the Acura NSX and Toyota Supra, as well as the Ferrari F40. For one of its newest flashback clips, Motorweek has exhumed an affordable five-car challenge of 1986's premiere hot hatches.

By today's standards, this is an eclectic field that features fondly remembered classics like the Volkswagen GTI 16-valve and Acura Integra. However, it also throws in some nearly forgotten contenders like the Dodge Colt Turbo and Ford Escort GT. The angular Toyota Corolla FX16 GT-S rounds out the group.

It's fascinating to watch Motorweek run the quintet through the slalom, down the drag strip and on various roads. What's most striking in this clip is the difference in the definition of a performance car between then and now. With its 16-valve, 1.8-liter four-cylinder, the GTI is the burliest of the contenders with 123 horsepower, but it still takes 8.8 seconds to reach 60 miles per hour. By today's standards, that would make it a plain-jane economy car, and not even a particularly quick one.

Still, in their day, these hatches were the pinnacle of affordable performance. If you're curious to see the winner of the nearly 30-year-old test or just want a heaping helping of nostalgia, this video is definitely worth checking out.

Continue reading Motorweek goes retro with '80s hot hatch shootout

Motorweek goes retro with '80s hot hatch shootout originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 03 Nov 2014 19:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorweek goes retro with ’80s hot hatch shootout

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Motorweek 1986 Hot Hatch Test

Motorweek's decades of history on television make it the perfect medium to look back into the automotive past and see how things are different now. It recently added old road test videos to its YouTube channel of the Acura NSX and Toyota Supra, as well as the Ferrari F40. For one of its newest flashback clips, Motorweek has exhumed an affordable five-car challenge of 1986's premiere hot hatches.

By today's standards, this is an eclectic field that features fondly remembered classics like the Volkswagen GTI 16-valve and Acura Integra. However, it also throws in some nearly forgotten contenders like the Dodge Colt Turbo and Ford Escort GT. The angular Toyota Corolla FX16 GT-S rounds out the group.

It's fascinating to watch Motorweek run the quintet through the slalom, down the drag strip and on various roads. What's most striking in this clip is the difference in the definition of a performance car between then and now. With its 16-valve, 1.8-liter four-cylinder, the GTI is the burliest of the contenders with 123 horsepower, but it still takes 8.8 seconds to reach 60 miles per hour. By today's standards, that would make it a plain-jane economy car, and not even a particularly quick one.

Still, in their day, these hatches were the pinnacle of affordable performance. If you're curious to see the winner of the nearly 30-year-old test or just want a heaping helping of nostalgia, this video is definitely worth checking out.

Continue reading Motorweek goes retro with '80s hot hatch shootout

Motorweek goes retro with '80s hot hatch shootout originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 03 Nov 2014 19:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Reliving the Acura NSX debut, 25 years later

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Acura NSX

The Acura NSX might be one of the most important Japanese cars ever created. The Land of the Rising Sun had already established that it could make very competent performance vehicles when the NSX debuted in 1989, but Honda's two-seater was the first one that looked to the world like a true contender against Ferrari and Porsche, thanks to its cutting-edge technology. The Acura had an all-aluminum monocoque chassis, a beautifully low-slung body and a quick-revving V6 with an 8,000-rpm redline. This quintessential Japanese sports coupe celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, and Autoweek recognizes it in a fantastic piece chronicling the model's US launch.

The story begins in February 1989 at the Chicago Motor Show where the car debuted. The day before the show opened, the concept still didn't have a name. The Japanese development team referred to it as New Sports, and the American Acura executives decided to add eXperimental to the end. The moniker NSX just stuck afterwards.

The article paints a fantastic portrait of the car and the company at the time. Honda had something to prove with the NSX. To succeed, the coupe had to be the best, and when the American press finally got a hold of it, they drowned it in accolades. Of course, Acura has a new American-built NSX on the way, and it has colossal legacy to live up to. This piece is definitely worth reading to understand why.

Reliving the Acura NSX debut, 25 years later originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 03 May 2014 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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eBay Find of the Day: Ayrton Senna’s 1993 Honda NSX

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1993 Acura NSX reportedly formerly owned by Ayrton Senna, is up for auction on eBay.

It's not often that things owned by the late Ayrton Senna come up for sale, but the seller of this black-on-black 1993 Honda NSX (aka, Acura NSX) eBay find claims it was once owned by the Formula One legend, and that he left a footprint on the factory carpet that can still be seen today. (Footprint, or vacuum lines?...)

NSX no. T000999 was given to Senna as a gift from his mentor and sponsor, Antonio de Almeida Braga, the seller claims, and it was stored at a palace near the Estoril F1 circuit in Portugal. He also was known to drive two other NSXs, a black one and a red one - the latter in which he was seen often.

The seller claims to have owned T000999, which is still in Portugal, for 17 years, and the 31,000-mile odometer indicates it was driven about 1,500 miles per year on average. Thankfully the car has been kept stock, so whoever buys it can enjoy driving it just as Senna did - that is, if the car actually is what it's claimed to be. If the story checks out, then this is one valuable NSX, which is reflected in the high minimum starting bid of 47,500 pounds ($73,620). There have been no bids at time of writing, but with nine days left in the auction, we'll be keeping our eyes on this one.

Senna is credited with improving the development of the mid-engine Honda when he told engineers after a test drive that the car needed to be more rigid. After eight months more chassis development, the car was stiffer and the suspension was finely tuned to Senna's satisfaction. The rest is history, as Honda stunned the world - and a few supercar manufacturers - soon after when it released the excellent NSX in 1990.

eBay Find of the Day: Ayrton Senna's 1993 Honda NSX originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 09 Aug 2013 11:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Powerball winner’s first purchase will be used Acura NSX off Craigslist

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Video of Powerball winner Paul White

We don't play the lottery very often, but when we do, even a five-dollar win is cause for celebration. So we can't possibly imagine how Paul White from Minnesota is feeling after scoring a third of this week's $448 million Powerball jackpot. It has to be an overwhelming experience, but we think he's going to end up handling it well if his first press conference is any indication.

Like some of us, White has a pretty reasonable idea of what his first purchase is, and boy, is it a good one: an early Acura NSX. Yes, this man has class. Rather than run out and buy a clichéd Rolls-Royce or Lamborghini, his first instinct is to go pick up a $30,000 Acura that he has been eyeing on Craigslist for months. It's enough to make us wonder if he'll use his winnings to get on the list for one of Acura's new NSXs when they finally come around in 2015.

Watch White describe what it is about the NSX that makes heart skip a beat in the press conference video from USA Today below (note: video autoplays).

Continue reading Powerball winner's first purchase will be used Acura NSX off Craigslist

Powerball winner's first purchase will be used Acura NSX off Craigslist originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 08 Aug 2013 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acura rejoins with Seinfeld, sponsors Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee [w/videos]

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Jerry Seinfeld Acura Super Bowl ad with NSX - screencap

We enjoyed the opening season of Seinfeld's offbeat Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee web series, a video serial where Jerry Seinfeld picked up his friends in some of his classic cars and... chatted. It was a simple premise that offered some genuinely enjoyable moments, even if the 'cars' connection was often a bit incidental. In any case, Acura must have felt the same way, as it has just inked a deal to be the sole sponsor for the series' next season.

Acura, you may recall, already enjoys a relationship with the comedian - Seinfeld starred in the company's 2012 Super Bowl ad alongside the NSX supercar concept. So perhaps it's no surprise that it has signed on to sponsor 24 episodes of the series, due to roll out this year and next. Naturally, with any title sponsorship these days, you can expect to see some integration of the sponsor - in this case, Acura says such measures will involve its new 2014 MDX crossover, integrating "short, contextually relevant ads at the beginning and end of the episode."

Will you watch? For a refresher on Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee, check out a couple of our favorite first season episodes with Michael Richards and Alec Baldwin by scrolling below.

Continue reading Acura rejoins with Seinfeld, sponsors Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee [w/videos]

Acura rejoins with Seinfeld, sponsors Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee [w/videos] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 05 Jun 2013 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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