Legend Meets Legend: Honda NSX and Ayrton Senna
Most of you likely know about the one and only NSX, Honda’s 1990s JDM Legend.
There are dozens of reasons this car has attained the cult status it has today, but one you may not know is that Ayrton Senna, the late F1 legend, put his input into the design and owned 3 in his personal collection.
During the production of the NSX, the goal was to produce an exotic, but reliable supercar to compete against the monopolistic Ferraris and Porsches at that time. It was a godsend to the Honda team to have Ayrton Senna be part of the McLaren-Honda team. What's better than working on a car with one of the greatest Formula 1 drivers, right?
It was a summer day in 1989 when Senna was testing his McLaren out in Suzuka. It also happened that the prototype of the NSX was also out on the track. So Ayrton, in his loafers and white socks, hopped in and took the NSX for a spin around the circuit. His initial feedback on the car was that “It feels a little fragile.”
Eight months later, the Honda team engineered the NSX to have a 50% stiffer chassis. Senna took the improved car for a test in the Nurburgring as well as in Suzuka and helped the team develop a better suspension, making the car handle and drive better, making the NSX a much more balanced machine. Therefore making the Honda NSX finally - Senna approved.
