1991 NSX V's 2019 Civic type R. A really unsurprising result.

[Pride]

An interesting but pointless comparison:

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparison-test/a28930414/2019-honda-civic-type-r-vs-1991-acura-nsx/

[Heineken]

I took away this sentence, which I particularly enjoyed: "Flicking the switch to raise its pop-up headlights is an automotive moment every enthusiast should experience." :)

[paulc]

I've got a 1991 NA1 and had a bit of a race against the new Civic R Type last year around Snetterton Race Track, it left me for dead! Out accelerated, out braked and out cornered me!

[goldnsx]

I've got a 1991 NA1 and had a bit of a race against the new Civic R Type last year around Snetterton Race Track, it left me for dead! Out accelerated, out braked and out cornered me!
Don't race against them. :) They ARE fast. Cars of different decades.

[britlude]

that's why these comparisons are pointless!!! it should be quicker, there's been pretty much 3 decades of progress and development!!!!

[Pride]

that's why these comparisons are pointless!!! it should be quicker, there's been pretty much 3 decades of progress and development!!!!

If only there was someone out there who could drive the NA1 the way this great legend could and then the new Civic type R might not be as quick as you think.😎

This first video was actually taken in the pre 1988 prototype before his suggestions were put into place so please ignore the year in the tittle:
https://youtu.be/vb3-Ibbf5HE

And then when his suggestions were taken to their fullest extent in 92, even driving in those famous red loafers 👞, I'm sure this NSX R would still show a clean pair of heals to today's Civic R (at least that's what I'll always believe) 👏👏

https://youtu.be/Lo5wDmJGYGo

[goldnsx]

Same driver in both cars, the Civic wins against a stock NSX (incl. NSX-R). The NSX needs a lot of mods to be on par with it. Nothing wrong with that. But lap times are only one aspect. What should a owner of a old Porsche think about the newest models? Of course, they perform better but those 993/997 are still fun to drive. Same with the NSX.

The problem is that not many owners who ever had or still have a Gen1 went for a Gen2. I only recall '2000' here on this board but noone in continental Europe. And Honda is struggling to sell the Civic Type R too. (Young) people have different priorities nowadays, it seems. Honda tried to attract people for the race track with very little success. Typical 'junior problem'. Sad to see.

[NZNick]

I drove a CTR a couple of years ago - it didn't feel anything like as quick as my NSX, and it didn't feel at all special...

[bbvnsx]

Not all is about being the fastest... there will be always a faster car out there...


In my opinion the NSX is about feeling, the mods i do to my NSX will get the car a bit faster, but my main goal is to enhance feeling, and that is what I search when driving my NSX, the car is special and makes you feel special... It is not the fastest? yes of course not, but it is fast enough, and if you don't know what you are doing it will bite you back, driving it fast is a differente chalenge and feeling from driving the Civic Type R.


Today's F1 cars are faster than the 1988 McLaren MP4/4, but the sensation of driving a monster like that made a professional and world champion driver react like this:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCW24kaBHyI


JMO here...

[NSX100]

Actually, I found this an interesting article. In fairness to C&D, their aim is to compare 30 years of Honda car development from the original NSX to the current Type R. They are not pretending that the cars are comparable - how can they be 30 years apart? I have not driven the new Type R but I know which car I prefer - and it's not the one with the greater performance today! C&D imply the same. As an aside, I was driving my NSX along a Scottish B road in the summer and a new Type R came racing up behind me. He flashed his lights and then sat back 50m or more as if to say "Respect. I can easily overtake you but that is the car I wish I had." He turned off 20km or so later with another flash of the lights and a wave.

[WhyOne?]

If only there was someone out there who could drive the NA1 the way this great legend could and then the new Civic type R might not be as quick as you think.😎

....

https://youtu.be/Lo5wDmJGYGo

But then surely you are removing a 'constant' from the comparison (same driver each car) and making the comparison even more pointless?!?!

[The King]

I've got a 1991 NA1 and had a bit of a race against the new Civic R Type last year around Snetterton Race Track, it left me for dead! Out accelerated, out braked and out cornered me!
Yeah, but don't forget, you do have to look at it every day. Maybe just drive the Civic after dark.

[paulc]

[QUOTE=The King;129340]Yeah, but don't forget, you do have to look at it every day. Maybe just drive the Civic after dark.[/QUOT

I totally agree with you, much rather look at my NSX and drive it over Civic!

[Senninha]

"Respect. I can easily overtake you but that is the car I wish I had."

Very nicely put and in my experience, reflective on genuine Honda fans .. whatever the model, whatever the level of presentation/modifications from stock to turbo nutters, they still flock to and want to know what its like to on the NSX.

I made a new friend recently as I came out from paying for fuel ... this guy was standing looking at the NSX. He looked at me, smiled and simply said ... nothing ... whilst nodding. We did get talking, have subsequently met up a few times for drives. His S2k has been replaced by a Scooby which is stupidly quick compared to the NSX, but like your CTR experience above, he always holds back and respects the old ones (me and the NSX) in front of him ... :)

[Pride]

Reading the last two or three posts are experiences I also have had over the years, total respect from everyone and anywhere I take it, I don't think that there are many other marques or models out there that instill such great feelings.

In fact since I gave it my Senna "tribute" wrap 3 years ago I've even experienced applause from pedestrians while I wait for traffic lights to turn green, on motorways cars constantly dangerously undertake me if I'm in the outside lane to get a second look at what had just overtaken them all the while smiling with thumbs up.👍

At the Silverstone Supercar gathering this summer the owner of a Maclaren Senna asked me if I could park my car next to his as in his words he said "as it's the true Senna car", now that comment really did make me feel special about my car from an owner of a near 1 million pound hypercar.

I've had many great cars over my lifetime but never one that every time I look at it I think, WOW!! That looks fantastic.
And that to me sums everything up about this amazing car.🤗

[NoelWatson]

I drove a CTR a couple of years ago - it didn't feel anything like as quick as my NSX, and it didn't feel at all special...


It's on a par speed wise with the NSX

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45lH73kbRVI

On the road the NSX is more of an event. On the track, Honda have done a good job with the Civic, the one downside is that the engine tends overheat on warm days.

[goldnsx]

These 0- comparisons won't tell you how a car really drives.
- The Civic is quite a bit faster from a rolling start (-> 2nd part of the video).
- Take a car with AWD and both loose.

I don't dare to say it out loud but two of the reasons why the standard NSX was more like a GT were Hondas decision not to go beyond 280 hp and the overall concept (Senna goes on the track in the afternoon while his housekeeper went for shopping with it in the morning). Given that it has been developed in the 80ies, the NSX still performs and drives very good. The Civic has a much wider spread due to the used damper technology and its concept. You have a lot more car around yourself. The NSX feels a little bit small compared to todays cars.

I recall two episodes where the Civic Type R was compared to an older Honda:

I had a chance to have a testdrive (passenger seat) in a 2015 model. I've let the owner drive it as it was his car and he could show me best what it's really capable of. His father has a NSX of 1991. After warming it up he put the pedal to the metal in a sharp turn. My first words right after that maniac testdrive were: how long do you have to wait for your father in his NSX to catch up whenever you go for a spirited drive over the Alps? The driver just smiled and said: quite a while. It's crazy fast if you know how to drive a turbo car.

Some people regard the Honda Integra as a really capable track car which it was in his old days. The Integra is fun to drive but not overwhelmingly fast. I had one 20 years ago and was a little bit disappointed at first. I had a testdrive last year where someone tried to convince me what the Integra was capable of (VTEC with a cold engine :)). I didn't say anything after the testdrive, got back in my Civic and let the turbo spool fast (warm engine, of course). I guess he could not have stood it that the new Civic would have driven circles around the little Integra he was so convinced of. :) Back in the day the car was a great car among the other toys on the market but after 20/30 years you have to a realistic of what decade the car origins.

Conclusion:
1st The NSX still drives very good and offers a lot of fun.
2nd The new cars ARE faster on the average and offer a lot of fun too.

[Silver Surfer]

These 0- comparisons won't tell you how a car really drives.
- The Civic is quite a bit faster from a rolling start (-> 2nd part of the video).
- Take a car with AWD and both loose.

I don't dare to say it out loud but two of the reasons why the standard NSX was more like a GT were Hondas decision not to go beyond 280 hp and the overall concept (Senna goes on the track in the afternoon while his housekeeper went for shopping with it in the morning). Given that it has been developed in the 80ies, the NSX still performs and drives very good. The Civic has a much wider spread due to the used damper technology and its concept. You have a lot more car around yourself. The NSX feels a little bit small compared to todays cars.

I recall two episodes where the Civic Type R was compared to an older Honda:

I had a chance to have a testdrive (passenger seat) in a 2015 model. I've let the owner drive it as it was his car and he could show me best what it's really capable of. His father has a NSX of 1991. After warming it up he put the pedal to the metal in a sharp turn. My first words right after that maniac testdrive were: how long do you have to wait for your father in his NSX to catch up whenever you go for a spirited drive over the Alps? The driver just smiled and said: quite a while. It's crazy fast if you know how to drive a turbo car.

Some people regard the Honda Integra as a really capable track car which it was in his old days. The Integra is fun to drive but not overwhelmingly fast. I had one 20 years ago and was a little bit disappointed at first. I had a testdrive last year where someone tried to convince me what the Integra was capable of (VTEC with a cold engine :)). I didn't say anything after the testdrive, got back in my Civic and let the turbo spool fast (warm engine, of course). I guess he could not have stood it that the new Civic would have driven circles around the little Integra he was so convinced of. :) Back in the day the car was a great car among the other toys on the market but after 20/30 years you have to a realistic of what decade the car origins.

Conclusion:
1st The NSX still drives very good and offers a lot of fun.
2nd The new cars ARE faster on the average and offer a lot of fun too.

I had the same conclusion that many years ago....that's why I had to have my NSX boosted to stay ahead...;)

SS

[Procar Specials]

Both are great cars.....each with his own charactere.

Glad that I own both of them.
Looks like I will hold the Type R for a long time, the pre Facelift Turbo Civic Type R Design I do like a lot more than the actual model.
Same engine, more hardcore than the newer ones......only the tires are smaller, which is the main factor why the new one performed a bit better.
The old one is a bit faster at the straight because of the longer gears.....but this is marginal.

Both are no daily driver cars, so only for special days.

http://hondaboard.de/wcf/images/photos/thumbnails/large/photo-12963-72ec7534.jpg