The theme of Honda’s 2015 Goodwood stand was extremely cleverly conceived. Or I might be reading far too much into it.
Having their 2015 offerings all packaged up as 1:1 scale models -should I have posted this as a Diecast Delight?- they have created a playful, fun-to-look-at display. Big toys. Excellent. But the subtext, which was either completely intentional and I need to drink more coffee and wake up a bit, or I’ve stumbled upon it by accident, could well be about separating the men from the boys.
Especially when there’s a particular toy which everybody with the slightest hint of a gasolinical inclination has been anticipating For Ever. It’s known by three letters which mean so much.
N S X.


By all accounts Honda are on a bit of a roll right now. In Bratislava I discovered that the new Type-R was A Bit Good, albeit as assessed by a bloke who quickly realised that he couldn’t drive a shitty stick up a dogs arse. But this was the first a car has ever shown me, in controlled circumstances, just how far beyond my very mortal limits it was able to go.

NSX, we would hope, is touched by the same genius. Except that there are far fewer limits imposed on this car by practicality, cost and other fun-spoiling factors.

I’ve been watching the NSX with interest, and over time we’ve been shown one prototype after another, and quite honestly not all of them drove me wild with anticipation. Something tells me I really needn’t have been worried.

With the Type-R Honda really didn’t want a repeat of the debacle following the launch of the disappointingly received FN2. New Type-R needed to be loved by everybody who’s driven or owned a Type-R before, while attracting swarms of new recruits to the brand. It seems that the goal was hit with laser guided precision before being blown to kingdom come.

NSX badly needs to do the same. This car has been developed without input from Ayrton Senna. Ok, there was always input on offer from worthy qualified individuals, but other than that it’s all been down to the engineering nous of the development team. It seems, too, that communications between the chassis guys, the engine blokes and the styling crew have been very effective. I need to spend a bit longer walking around it and watching the light dancing to be completely sure, but, right now….

I like it.
And that’s a damn good start.
(All images copyright Chris Haining / Hooniverse 2015)