Courtesy
‘A little fragile’ is what Ayrton Senna is said to have remarked after driving a prototype of the new Honda ‘New Sportscar Experimental’ in February 1989. Senna, who had just become World Champion for the first time in a Honda-powered McLaren, was well aware of the Japanese sensibilities; that ‘little’ was absolutely crucial – after all, nobody was to lose face. The Japanese – legions of engineers, in fact – listened, nodded amiably – and then effectively started all over again. Within a few weeks, they had stiffened the chassis of their long-planned sports car by more than 50 per cent, thereby creating a true, enduring sports car legend: arguably the best car of its time. Senna, satisfied with the new foundation, was then able to concentrate on fine-tuning the chassis; he is said to have driven lap after lap for hours on end at various racetracks, providing input that was implemented immediately; Senna would drive out again, discuss, tweak here, give feedback there. When the Honda NSX was launched in 1990, it was so superior to all other sports cars that it must have been almost embarrassing for Ferrari, Porsche and the like – yet, particularly in Europe, nobody wanted to accept that such a ‘rice cooker’ could really outclass any 911 or even Testarossa right there in the car park.
In 1991, Honda made three NSXs available to Senna. They weren’t gifts; he was simply allowed to use them: two black models and one in red, the latter delivered to Portugal, where the Brazilian was based at the ‘Quinta do Lago’ resort at the time. The car was registered to the Portuguese importer, bore the number ‘SX-25-59’ and was apparently used quite intensively by Senna. Senna and his Honda were also made available as models for various photo and film shoots; in a documentary, he can be seen doing a burnout in the Japanese car, whilst the most famous image is probably the one in which the Brazilian pretends to be washing the car.
It is precisely this red NSX, chassis number JHMNA11500T000233, that is due to be auctioned at RM Sotheby’s in London in 2026. It is expected to fetch between 500,000 and 800,000 pounds. We have more on the NSX here, and there’s always the archive.