Honda and Acura weren't exactly hot for this idea when we pitched it. Each brands' communications departments had the same hesitation, basically asking, "You want to do what?" The fact that we were requesting that the 1991 Acura NSX be plucked from the floor of Honda's museum in Torrance, California, didn't exactly help matters. We admit it's a little weird to be comparing these two very different cars. But just look at the numbers. The days of finding a clean first-generation NSX for about $25K are long gone. In today's market, the price of a stock, well-preserved 83,000-mile first-year Acura NSX like this one is more like $45,000. A 2019 Honda Civic Type R costs $37,230.

So, we wondered, has technology advanced to the point that the brand's latest sport compact surpasses the performance of its legendary mid-engine supercar? Did 30 years of progress make the ultimate Honda Civic a more desirable driver's car than Honda's first true high-performance icon? After a week in both machines, the answers to these questions are a definite yes and an absolute maybe.

View Photos Jessica Lynn Walker Car and Driver

A Tale of Numbers

We'll get the obvious out of the way quickly: The new Civic Type R easily outperforms the original NSX in every way. Using the test results from our 3106-pound long-term Civic Type R for comparison, Honda's modern hot hatchback weighs 86 pounds more than the aluminum-bodied NSX we tested back in the summer of 1990. But it's also considerably more powerful and has a superior power-to-weight ratio. Inhaling 22.8 psi of boost, the Civic's turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four makes 306 horsepower, which means each of the Type R's ponies has to move 10.2 pounds. The Acura's naturally aspirated 3.0-liter V-6 revs past 8000 rpm, but its 270 horses weren't that impressive even back in 1991. Contemporary minivans make more power than that. Do the math, and the supercar's power-to-weight ratio is 11.2:1.

At the test track, with the massive grip of its 20-inch summer tires, the Honda does leave the NSX behind, thanks in part to its 295 lb-ft of torque peaking at just 2500 rpm, but not by a lot. The Acura's 210 lb-ft doesn't come on until 5300 revs, and its horsepower peaks way over on the other side of its tach at 7100 rpm. By the time the Acura's VTEC variable timing and lift system switches to its more aggressive camshaft profiles, the Civic's overwrought rear spoiler and absurd triple tailpipes are starting to pull ahead. Don't misunderstand: The NSX is quick, but the Civic, which is the fleetest front-wheel-drive car we've ever tested, is quicker. Our long-termer's zero-to-60-mph time of 5.1 seconds is a tenth quicker than the Acura's, and that gap widens to 0.2 second and 5 mph through the quarter-mile, which the Honda completes in 13.6 seconds at 107. What's more, the Type R reaches 130 mph in 23.5 seconds, some 1.4 seconds before the NSX.

View Photos Jessica Lynn Walker Car and Driver

The Civic's 147-foot stopping effort from 70 mph and its strong 0.99 g of grip around the skidpad also slap the NSX around. When new the supercar wore special Yokohama rubber developed exclusively for the car, but they're small even by 1991 standards—205/50R-15s in front and 225/50R-16s in back. Its 157-foot stop from 70 mph was impressive back in the day of first-generation anti-lock brakes, and its 0.86 g of grip was in the heart of the supercar class, but those test results are easily shaded by today's fast and furious Civic. Previous 2018-model-year Type Rs we've tested have proved to be even quicker and more capable still.

Different Personalities

The original NSX always looked bigger in photos than it really was. The Civic towers over the Acura by nearly a foot. It's also more than two inches wider, six inches longer, and has about seven inches more space between its axles. Driving the NSX alongside the Type R feels as if you're riding in a go-kart next to a small SUV.

View Photos Jessica Lynn Walker Car and Driver

At first, the Acura's seating position feels odd. You sit tall within its cabin and look out through the top third of its huge windshield over an impossibly low cowl. Its A-pillars are pencil thin. Back in 1990 we said, "The sky and the road seem so close you could reach right out and touch them." That observation remains accurate. In the NSX's 1990 comparison test, in which it beat the Porsche 911 Carrera 4, Chevy Corvette ZR-1, Ferrari 348, and Lotus Esprit Turbo, we also called the Acura the first hero car with impeccable manners, and it's easy to see why. There's plenty of room inside, its shifter is exactly where you want it, and the control layout is simple, attractive, and tasteful. Aside from its lack of an infotainment screen and cupholders, we'd even call it modern. After 80,000 miles the black leather shift knob of our borrowed NSX has developed a beautiful, faded patina. Its baseball stitching is just beginning to fray.

Back in the early 1990s the NSX was so accessible and usable versus other mid-engine sports cars that some called it boring. Even its sleek uninterrupted lines were seen as overly conservative. But few designs have aged this well, and the NSX still turns heads. Flicking the switch to raise its pop-up headlights is an automotive moment every enthusiast should experience.

View Photos Jessica Lynn Walker Car and Driver

Jump out of the analog NSX and into the digital Civic, and it's as if you're climbing into the mind of a Gran Turismo video-game addict. There are red seatbelts, trim, and stitching. Bright red upholstery covers its heavily bolstered sport seats, which are supremely comfortable yet wouldn't seem out of place in a Sparco catalog. You sit low within the Type R, in a more traditional sporting position than you do in the NSX. It's pedals and shift knob are real-deal aluminum. If you find its over-the-top exterior design offensive, you were probably born before the internet. Young people think it’s the cat's meow.

Finesse vs. Force

In the canyons of the Santa Monica mountains above Malibu, the NSX can't really keep pace with the Type R, but it's simply a joy to drive. With its tall gearing and 8300-rpm rev limiter, most two lanes, even faster ones, are second-gear affairs. Winding out third gear puts the NSX beyond 100 mph, which, unfortunately, makes it nearly impossible to enjoy the Acura's lofty powerband around town. In most situations, excessive speed is required to get the V-6 up in its sweet zone for more than one ratio. Instead you find yourself short shifting the five-speed manual transmission below 6000 rpm, which is a bummer, as that's when the V-6 really starts getting good. More gear changes would be welcome simply because the NSX's shifter is one of the most direct and mechanical examples we've ever experienced.

View Photos Jessica Lynn Walker Car and Driver

Direct and mechanical actually describes the entire NSX driving experience. "This car makes a hard-wire connection between you and the joy of driving," we opined nearly 30 years ago. It's that responsive and tightly wound. But it also brings just enough refinement to keep it from feeling like a race car. Even its manual steering (Acura added power steering to manual transmission models in 1995) is tuned to perfection, providing just the right amounts of feel and effort without any kickback or wander, although it does make parking a bit of a pain. This car wears a new set of Bridgestone RE 71R summer tires, and there's an impressive amount of front-end grip, albeit with much more body roll than most sporty cars have today. When new, the NSX was praised for being easy to drive quickly. It isn't tail happy like some other mid-engine machines. Despite its small diameter tires and meaty sidewalls, it doesn't ride as well as the Civic, yet you could drive it from Los Angeles to Las Vegas without feeling battered.

View Photos Jessica Lynn Walker Car and Driver

The Type R, however, is the easier car to drive at a serious pace. Its speed and limits are even more accessible. With its burly bottom-end torque and a less-spectacular 7000-rpm redline, most canyon roads do require both second and third gear, but its six-speed manual does offer automatic rev-matching assistance for the heel-and-toe challenged. The Civic's big Brembo brakes can keep up with the hot hatch's greater pace, while its chassis, limited-slip differential, and tacky Continental summer tires offer seemingly infinite amounts of grip. You'd never know this car has 61.5 percent of its weight over its front tires.

We said in our test of a 1994 model that the NSX is the most precise and attuned mid-engine machine we've ever driven. But that's just not true anymore. Heck, the NSX isn't even the most precise and attuned machine in this test. Three decades of progress have forged a new pecking order in the pantheon of Honda performance. We now live in a time when a modern hot hatch can smoke many of the supercars of our childhoods. The original NSX will always be special and its attraction eternal. But the 2019 Civic Type R is clearly more capable.

Specifications Specifications 2019 Honda Civic Type R VEHICLE TYPE

front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 4-door hatchback PRICE AS TESTED

$37,230 (base price: $37,230) ENGINE TYPE

turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, direct fuel injection

Displacement

122 cu in, 1996 cc

Power

306 hp @ 6500 rpm

Torque

295 lb-ft @ 2500 rpm TRANSMISSION

6-speed manual CHASSIS

Suspension (F/R): struts/multilink

Brakes (F/R): 13.8-in vented, cross-drilled disc/12.0-in disc

Tires: Continental SportContact 6, 245/30R-20 90Y DIMENSIONS

Wheelbase: 106.3 in

Length: 179.4 in

Width: 73.9 in

Height: 56.5 in

Passenger volume: 97 cu ft

Cargo volume: 26 cu ft

Curb weight: 3106 lb C/D

TEST RESULTS*

Zero to 60 mph: 5.1 sec

Zero to 100 mph: 11.8 sec

Zero to 130 mph: 23.5 sec

Rolling start, 5–60 mph: 6.1 sec

Top gear, 30–50 mph: 10.6 sec

Top gear, 50–70 mph: 6.9 sec

Standing ¼-mile: 13.6 sec @ 107 mph

Top speed (drag limited, mfr's claim): 169 mph

Braking, 70–0 mph: 147 ft

Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.99 g EPA FUEL ECONOMY

Combined/city/highway: 25/22/28 mpg *Test results from June 2019 – 1991 Acura NSX VEHICLE TYPE

mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door coupe BASE PRICE (1991)

$60,600 ENGINE TYPE

DOHC 24-valve V-6, aluminum block and heads, port fuel injection

Displacement

182 cu in, 2977 cc

Power

270 hp @ 7100 rpm

Torque

210 lb-ft @ 5300 rpm TRANSMISSION

5-speed manual CHASSIS

Suspension (F/R): control arms/control arms

Brakes (F/R): 11.1-in vented disc/11.1-in vented disc

Tires: Yokohama A-022, F: 205/50R-15 R: 225/50R-16 DIMENSIONS

Wheelbase: 99.6 in

Length: 173.4 in

Width: 71.3 in

Height: 46.1 in

Passenger volume: 49 cu ft

Trunk volume: 5 cu ft

Curb weight: 3020 lb C/D

TEST RESULTS**

Zero to 60 mph: 5.2 sec

Zero to 100 mph: 13.3 sec

Zero to 130 mph: 24.9 sec

Top gear, 30–50 mph: 8.3 sec

Top gear, 50–70 mph: 8.0 sec

Standing ¼-mile: 13.8 sec @ 102 mph

Top speed: 163 mph

Braking, 70–0 mph: 157 ft

Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.86 g EPA FUEL ECONOMY

Combined/city/highway: 18/16/22 mpg **Test results from the September 1990 issue Expand Collapse

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