By Jon Quirk
02 April 2008
You don’t have to be a lottery winner to have one of the world’s most desirable cars parked on your drive. Here are some very special motors that can be yours for £30k. Happy shopping.
Honda NSX
The Honda NSX may not possess the supercar heritage you’re after, but its combination of pace, durability and low running costs will stun you into submission. With excellent build quality, an aluminium chassis and the reliability of that mid-mounted Honda 3.0-litre engine (which expanded to 3.2-litres in 1997), the Honda NSX was the first modern supercar that could be used on an everyday basis. And did you know it was developed with the help of a certain Formula One driver called Ayrton Senna?
There isn’t anything to not like. Well, apart from that naff acronym – NSX stands for New Sportscar eXperimental. Ahh, see what they did there?
With Honda still dithering to build a worthy successor, early examples of the NSX still cost in excess of £18k. However, your wedge of £30k could stretch to a 2002 model year NSX (pictured) which enjoyed an interior re-fresh and new bonnet mounted lights which replaced the previous pop up efforts.
What should I look out for?
Having a Honda badge on the bonnet may not excite you in the way a Ferrari badge would but it will keep your bank manager happy. Servicing and parts are priced very reasonably, especially for a supercar.
However, depending on how heavy that right peg of yours is, the V6 (which was supplied as a 3.0-litre pre ‘98 or 3.2-litre afterwards) can be a thirsty unit – expect 12mpg on the thrash. The NSX also has a tendency to munch through its rear tyres, which generally need replacing every 6000 miles. They’re swiftly followed by the fronts so a fresh set should set you back about £800. Regardless, with such manageable costs, the NSX would make the perfect starter supercar.
On sale 1990-2005
Price Then £52,000 - £75,000
Price Now From £17k-£40k
Performance 290bhp at 7100rpm, 221lb ft at 5300rpm (3.2-litre) 22.8mpg (Combined)
Service Charges £163 (Minor) - £1,100 (60k Timing Belt Change)
Service Intervals Pre-’98 = every 6000 miles, Post- ’98 = every 9000 miles
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