This is an interesting story about one of my favorite cars from Japan.


Link to article: Acura NSX supercar found in river after 16 years sold for restoration Buyers plan to restore NSX to roadworthy condition

The NSX was discovered by divers during an unrelated missing person's investigation. (Churchland Fire Department)

A classic supercar found in a river may soon be resurrected.

A 1991 Acura NSX that was sitting on the bottom of North Carolina's Yadkin River for 16 years may soon be on the road again.

The classic mid-engine two-door was discovered during an unrelated missing person's investigation in 2019.

The NSX was Acura's affordable answer to exotic models from the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini and is considered one of the best performance cars of all time.

It was reported stolen in 2003, according to The Drive, and was recently released from the impound yard and put up for sale by LSX Salvage in Lexington.



The NSX was delivered to LSX Salvage in the condition in which it was pulled out of the Yadkin River in 2019. (LSX Salvage)



Despite still being filled with debris, it was offered for $6,000, but a short bidding war between several interested parties ensued, and it ended up selling for $8,500. It was purchased by the three owners of Helix Auto Works in Owings Mills, Maryland, a shop that specializes in the NSX.

Co-owner Jay told Fox News Digital that he'd been looking for an NSX for his business partner, Ramsey, who is the only one of the trio that doesn't own one himself, when he came across the listing. Now they and their associate, Nico, plan to take on the task of getting it roadworthy again.

"It’s going to be a lot of work," Jay said.

He's optimistic thanks to the NSX's largely aluminum construction, which resisted corrosion in the freshwater river. There is some damage to the front roof pillars, but it's nothing that looks insurmountable. Despite having been stolen, Jay said the car doesn't appear to have been stripped of parts, but they'll have a better idea of what's left after they dig out the dirt that's still in it.

It does still have its 270 hp V6 engine, however, and records listed it with just around 32,000 miles on the odometer when it went missing.

The NSX had a list price of $63,000 when it was new and one in perfect shape is worth about $143,000 today, according to Hagerty.

Just how close the team gets it to that condition is yet to be seen, but they will be chronicling the project on their company's Instagram and YouTube accounts.


It will be interesting to see if they are able to pull it off and return the NSX to its former glory.

Oof, that'll be a rough restoration

I wish them luck.

My dad wanted one of those, and it would have been an expensive car at the time, but not out of his reach. But he couldn't bring himself to spend that much on a car. He wasn't a cheapskate by any means, but he was not one to go for extravagances.

I've driven a 1st generation 5MT model, briefly, years ago. In normal driving, it's nothing too amazing, but I'm sure they're great on a winding road.

But, it was also a customer car, so I didn't really push it, either.

Remember when 270hp out of a V6 engine was impressive?

^^^It's a NA (Normally Aspirated) 3.0L V6, and the NSX was a mid-engine RWD car...It IS Impressive!

Drove one when they first came out, amazing vehicle, darn near bought it, wish I had.

If the drivetrain is toast from water damage, they should LS it...

The NSX was never a very powerful car. Honda/Acura took a more Lotus like design approach with a focus on light weight materials and great handling coupled to a reliable if maybe a little underwhelming power plant.

The NSX was designed to be the more reliable daily drivable exotic challenger to Ferrari and Lamborghini that also came at a much lower price tag to purchase and probably MUCH less to maintain.

I used to drive by my local Acura dealership back when the NSX was in production. The local dealership had a big rotating disc and typically parked a NSX on it for display. I occasionally would stop by and drool over the elegant design and arguably best tail lights Honda/Acura ever made.

After hurricane Ike, we had a plant in Texas' golden triangle experience 6 feet of flood water. Unfortunately, that included the distributed control system (DCS) for the entire plant's control room as well as more than ten thousand of instruments. Obviously, the DCS was fried and so were most of the instruments (most were rain resistant not submersion resistant). However, the part that surprised us was the wiring we basically lost an inch at each end for every day it was underwater. The electrical jackets weren't meant for submersion and the water slowly weeped corroding from the ends.

The reason I bring this up is the poor bastards rescuing the NSX better plan to scrap the computers, the sensors, and the wiring harnesses. Most likely, they'll hate themselves if they don't scrap the wiring harnesses as they will be endlessly chasing electrical gremlins.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
The reason I bring this up is the poor bastards rescuing the NSX better plan to scrap ....

I'd be interested in what they would actually keep, (other than the VIN number plates, of course.)

Cool!

That just screams for a full custom build.

I struggle with this one a bit....

Ferrari 308 or Testarossa - YES
Lamborghini Countach - YES
Vector V8 - YES
McLaren (any) - YES

Acura NSX?? Hmmmm not really what I consider a super car. So I'd vote no on that one.

It was part of Japans Muscle/Tuner car golden age. The 90’s had the Nissan R32, R33 & getting in just under the wire the 1999 R34 GT-R. There was also the Toyota Supra TT sport roof, MR-2 turbo, Sylvia & 240sx and the truly masterful Mazda FD-RX7 twin turbo. There was also the 3000GT, Eclipse GST/GSX, and 300ZX TT.

To those who like imports and especially the fans of Honda the NSX is the idea of a super car or exotic car if you will that can be driven every single day.

I haven’t seen an NSX in the wild in years. The last one I saw was parked in front of an auto parts store with a crowd gathering around it taking pictures.

They look good stock but better rims and a few tasteful mods can really improve an already great looking car.

quote:

Originally posted by joel9507:
I'd be interested in what they would actually keep, (other than the VIN number plates, of course.)

Aluminum body and frame. Some of the titanium and aluminum engine parts. Maybe some of the plastic trim and lenses. That's probably about it.

Anything steel, leather, fabric, or electrical would be toast.

If it were a CSX frame Cobra or an F40 Ferarri, it'd be worth it.

A place that specializes in the NSX probably has a good amount of spare parts they have acquired over the years. If anyone will be able to source replacement parts it’s someone who specializes in that specific model.

There are a few different directions they could go. They could restore it back close to original. This would be the most likely option or they could build a resto-mod and swap in some kind of performance engine. The third and least likely option would be to swap in a modern NSX hybrid power plant or a Tesla electric type swap.

Since they have basically a shell they can work with and document an entire build on social media it has potential to be a very clever advertising strategy for their business.

quote:

Originally posted by Rightwire:
I struggle with this one a bit....

Ferrari 308 or Testarossa - YES
Lamborghini Countach - YES
Vector V8 - YES
McLaren (any) - YES

Acura NSX?? Hmmmm not really what I consider a super car. So I'd vote no on that one.

Nostalgia is clouding your judgement.

The 308 is a 6 second 0-60 car, the Testarossa, in all of it's glorious perfection is a second faster. The Countach is unstable at modern highway speeds. A modern 400hp turbo sedan(or worse, any tesla) will smoke all three.

The vector can't turn and is as tragically rare as the Delorean. Most people will never see one.

McLaren...Ok I guess. They actually progressed the hypercar genre.

The NSX is only less special because they made it for so long, and it worked so well. Still better than a 328 or 355 even, to own.

Really cool story. I was planning on getting one eventually but apparently so is everyone else and they are now insanely expensive.

There's just no way that's economically feasible. Guessing they'll do a YouTube channel or something to defray costs. If that were in my driveway, I'd pay someone to haul it away.

quote:

Originally posted by DoctorSolo:
....Nostalgia is clouding your judgement.

The 308 is a 6 second 0-60 car, the Testarossa, in all of it's glorious perfection is a second faster. The Countach is unstable at modern highway speeds. A modern 400hp turbo sedan(or worse, any tesla) will smoke all three......

Totally! From a performance perspective, it's crazy to think about that, and as you've said, going further modern, my BMW X3 M40i is turning in 4.1 sec 0-60. Some report sub 4 seconds even. And it can haul five passengers and groceries, handles impeccably, and goes well in the snow.