Raymond Arsenault on Life and Business: Final-year Acura NSX sells for $144,100 at Auctions America Auburn sale

2005 Acura NSX. Photo by Linhbergh LLC; all photos courtesy Auctions America.

Once largely ignored by collectors, Japanese cars are growing in both demand and price, with clean examples of desirable cars commanding sums that would have been unthinkable a year ago. By way of example, consider this well-preserved and lightly modified 2005 Acura NSX, which sold for an impressive (and fee-inclusive) $144,100 at Auctions America’s Labor Day Auburn sale.

For reference, NADA shows a “High Retail” price of $80,200 for a 2005 Acura NSX, which represented the final year of production for the mid-engine sports coupe. Sold new for $89,000, the Comptech supercharger package (said to be a dealer installed option) added a significant $16,000 to the sticker price, placing the NSX in a realm previously unoccupied by Japanese cars in the U.S. market. Aftermarket performance upgrades, even factory authorized ones, rarely bring additional money when a car is offered for sale, so it’s hard to say whether this price was aided or hurt by the Comptech blower.

Launched in 1990, the Acura (or Honda, outside North America) NSX was intended to be a halo car for the Japanese brand, reaching into the company’s Formula 1 bag of tricks. Featuring things like all-aluminum semi-monocoque construction; a mid-engine, rear drive layout; aluminum suspension components; titanium connecting rods; electric power steering (now commonplace); drive-by-wire throttle (introduced in 1995) and variable valve timing, the NSX was as ambitious a passenger car project as Honda had ever undertaken. Even Formula 1 stars Satoru Nakajima and Ayrton Senna were involved in the car’s development, further refining its already exceptional handling.

Power initially came from a normally aspirated 3.0-liter V-6, rated at 270 horsepower and 210 pound feet of torque. Given the car’s low curb weight of just over 3,000 pounds, that was somewhat more than adequate, but less than exceptional. By the time production ended in 2005, displacement had grown to 3.2-liters, with output reaching 290 horsepower and 224 pound-feet of torque in stock form. Even the curb weight was kept down throughout the car’s history, with the final examples tipping the scales at 3,153 pounds.

As described, the NSX showed less than 4,000 miles on the odometer and was said to be in “like new, showroom condition,” and “one of the best examples.” Sold with service records, the original manuals and two additional sets of keys, it must have been a desirable example to command such a significant premium, even after the 10-percent buyer’s fee is factored in.

Though the new owner has a very desirable Acura, he (or she) also faces a dilemma: As an investment, the car will only retain its value (or appreciate) if the mileage is kept low and the condition remains pristine. Drive it often, particularly in the manner intended by Honda’s engineers, and the value surely goes down as the years go by.