The NSX, a dream Japanese supercar

This is a project in which a 20-year-old female racing driver, Ms. Rami Sasaki, who loves old cars, is asked to test drive various old cars to give her honest impressions from the perspective of today’s youth. This time, we took her for a ride in a 1999 Honda first generation “NSX Type S” maintained by Honda Access.

The Type S equipped with Honda Access’ 20th anniversary parts

Ms. Rami Sasaki is a young female racing driver who turned 20 this year. She made her 4-wheel racing debut in 2023 in the KYOJO CUP, a women-only motorsports category held at Fuji Speedway, and entered the KYOJO CUP again in 2024. In the season opener, she took the checkered flag in 5th place, her best finish. This season, she will also be making a spot in the GR86/BRZ Cup Clubman Series, and will make her debut in the GR86/BRZ Cup on July 13, 2024 (Saturday) at Fuji Speedway. She is steadily building her career as a racing driver.

In addition to being a racing driver, she usually works for MSC Corporation, the company that manages Formula Drift Japan, and lives a car-obsessed life both publicly and privately.

Rami is an old car enthusiast at heart, and at the KYOJO CUP, where a test ride of old cars is offered to visitors, she takes pictures of the cars with her smartphone, and when she has free time, she asks old car owners for a sneak (?) test ride. If there was free time, she would ask the owner of the old car to secretly take a test ride in the passenger seat.

As such an old car enthusiast, we asked Rami to test drive a 1999 first-generation “NSX Type S” equipped with Honda Access parts. This vehicle was fitted with parts developed and marketed by Honda Access in 2011 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the NSX, using the latest technology available at the time.

The 5-level adjustable damping sports suspension and the “effective aerodynamics” dry carbon trunk spoiler were developed to achieve high performance in a wide range of areas from daily use to sports driving on the race track.

What stuck out the most was Modulo’s dry carbon rear wing

Because Rami loves old cars, we thought she would be attracted to the retractable headlights of the first-generation NSX, but it was the Modulo trunk spoiler that caught her eye in terms of styling.

“This wing is so cool! I’m in love with the carbon folds. I also like the shape that seems to work well. Of course, the retractable headlights are my favorite point too. But unlike other cars, the NSX’s retractable headlights have a unique thin opening.”

It must be a racing driver’s instinct to be attracted to performance parts even in an old car. Next, we opened the door and entered the interior. The first thing that surprised me was the genuine Recaro full bucket seats, which are unique to the Type S.

“What? These are genuine seats!? It’s a genuine full bucket seat. But they are comfortable and easy to get in and out of. Also, the interior construction has the feel of a luxury car. The design with the large tachometer and speedometer gives the impression of a supercar!”

Rami seemed to sense “Japan’s first super sports” from the interior.

It’s light and feels like it can turn anywhere

She started the engine and went for a test drive. Rami, who said this was her first experience with a large-displacement high-power machine, was first surprised by the weight of the clutch.

“Wow! The clutch is heavy! The connection is also very tight. But it seems to have a lot of torque underneath. Also, maybe it’s because it’s midship, but the steering is lighter than I expected. The legs seem a little firmer than the Beat I drove earlier, but it seems to be perfectly fine for everyday use. However, with this atmosphere, it would probably be more comfortable at higher speeds.”

This is how the NSX entered the Metropolitan Highway course with high expectations for the high-speed range. The NSX showed its true potential as it accelerated with the RPMs increasing.

“Wow! It feels like the engine is going to turn everywhere! The higher you go, the better it feels, but from 6000 rpm and up, it comes into its own, or rather, it feels like it has a feeling of being one more level above. Especially from the middle rpm range up, the response is better, and the character changes depending on the rpm range. It has a unique feeling of being able to turn anywhere lightly, without making you feel that the engine has a large displacement! Also, the gear ratios are evenly distributed, so you can shift up and down with good rhythm and feeling.”

“The nose goes in smoothly, but the rear is very stable.

And the Modulo sports suspension, which Rami had hoped would give her the feeling she was looking for at higher speeds, lived up to her expectations.

“Perhaps the NSX originally has a low ride height and a sense of stability, giving it a doughy impression, but I feel that it makes the atmosphere even better, or rather, it seems to have a high limit and a high sense of stability. It’s amazing how stable the rear end is, even though the nose feels like it goes in with a snap.”

At first, Rami seemed puzzled by the heavy clutch, but,

“I want to go on long tours! It would be even more fun to go to places like Hakone or the Venus Line!”