In one corner we’ve got the 1991 - 2005 Acura NSX; in the other corner, we’ve got the 2017 Honda Civic Type R. What do these two cars have in common other than coming from the same place and sharing common roots? Well, not much. The NSX was rear-wheel drive and rocked out less than 300 horsepower while the new Type R delivers as much as 320 ponies to the front wheels. Oh, and don’t forget that the NSX doesn’t have the same engine configuration as the Civic. Nope, it’s mounted midship compared to the more common frontal location of the Civic’s beastly little four-cylinder. Both cars are legendary in their own right.

The Civic Type R is the first one to roll off the production line and straight into U.S. Market. It’s also the most powerful production Civic Type R ever made. The NSX is, well, it’s an NSX. It was unbelievably reliable (as all Honda’s typically are) it looked amazing, and despite it’s relatively lower power output, it had world-beating performance thanks to a lightweight chassis and crazy aerodynamics. It even had a manual steering rack folks. So, what did all of that compute to? Well, it could beat the hell out of Ferrari at the time for less than $80,000. Now, the question is, can it beat today’s Civic Type R? Well, Check out this video from Carwow to see just how they stack up head-to-head!

Honda Civic Type R vs 2005 Acura NSX

Honda Civic Type R vs 1991-2005 Acura NSX Specificatiosn

References

Read our full review on the 2017 Honda Civic Type R.

Read our full review on the 1991 – 2005 Acura NSX.