The long-awaited second generation 2016 Acura NSX is slated to finally hit the streets in 2016. This week, there’s a custom-built 1991 Acura NSX convertible->ke144 advertised at a used-car lot in Massachusetts making the rounds of the Internet, and it’s a reminder that a roadster->ke1418 version of the 2016 NSX is all but a foregone conclusion. A series of renderings picked up by a Dutch online newspaper show patent-office photos of a car that looks suspiciously like an NSX->ke307 with a removable roof panel.

Acura->ke10 hasn’t released any details or even confirmed that a convertible version of the NSX is planned (no prototypes have been spied in testing that we know of, either), but it’s a safe bet that such a car would follow the coupe’s->ke141 introduction within a year or so, and use the same hybrid-boosted V-6, all-wheel drive and nine-speed, dual-clutch transmission as the coupe.

There was never a convertible version of the original NSX, so the body rigidity of the roadster in Massachusetts might be a little suspect, especially since there’s no mention of who built it. The conceptual images that have surfaced show what appears to be a removable roof panel that leaves a sculpted rear deck when down, similar to the drop-top version of the new NSX that appeared in the 2012 Marvel blockbuster The Avengers, with Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark at the wheel.This design also looks like it retains much of the coupe’s structural rigidity.

Continue reading to learn more about the Acura NSX Roadster.

Why it matters

Not only is the new NSX poised to compete with a gaggle of mid-engined exotics->ke177 sporting hard and soft-top verisons, but Acura has already shown this car off at the movies. The movie car showed off an earlier version of the NSX’ final front and rear end design, but it’s clear that Acura is considering taking the top off.

Acura NSX Roadster

Check out our speculative rendering of the NSX Roadster here.