This One-Off Acura NSX Concept is Your Chance to Be Tony Stark
The four-wheeled star of Marvel's The Avengers will be auctioned off for charity.
Acura is bringing something old and something new to Monterey Car Week this week. While the luxury brand will be pulling the covers off on the upcoming RSX EV, it will also be bringing one of the earliest examples of the second-generation NSX. Except that it's a first-generation NSX. Wait, what?
Automotive types will surely remember spotting what appeared to be an open-air NSX concept in 2012's The Avengers. Fresh off a reveal at the Detroit Auto Show earlier that year (in coupe form), the NSX was nothing short of Tony Stark's personal car in the superhero movie. Acura is wheeling out Iron Man's slightly slower mode of transport for the festivities in Monterey this week to gauge interest ahead of an auction next year.
What would the future owner be getting? A running example straight from the movie, complete with "Stark 33" license plate. Built by Trans FX in Oxnard, California, the NSX Roadster is actually a first-generation 1991 NSX under its resin and fiberglass skin, one with over 250,000 miles on it in fact. The cabin looks pretty good considering the age, and the build team fitted aftermarket seats to update the look. Other changes include a two-inch suspension drop as well as 18-inch alloys—a bit smaller than the staggered 19- and 20-inch setup the eventual production NSX would use in 2017.
"We knew it would have to be a reliable vehicle for filming, not just a static display, and we couldn't come up with anything that would be more reliable than an original Acura NSX," said Dave Marek, current executive advisor at Acura who served as creative director at the time.
The NSX Roadster will join another pair of historic NSX models at the Quail on August 15, including a 1995 NSX-R—the first model to wear the red badge—and the 1999 Alex Zanardi edition, of which only 51 were made. Acura plans on auctioning the Roadster next year, with all proceeds going to charity.
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Kyle began his automotive obsession before he even started school, courtesy of a remote control Porsche and various LEGO sets. He later studied advertising and graphic design at Humber College, which led him to writing about cars (both real and digital). He is now a proud member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC), where he was the Journalist of the Year runner-up for 2021.
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