An automatic Acura NSX? Preposterous. Racing an automatic NSX around a real deal circuit? I’ll believe it when I see it.
Did you know that some first-generation Acura NSX’s could be optioned out with a four-speed automatic transmission? Well, they totally could. This Acura NSX owner off of Facebook earlier today (Apr. 3,2018) shared a video of his 1996 Acura NSX with an automatic transmission straight whipping it around New Jersey Motorsports Park at full speed. You’re going to want to turn up your speakers because you can hear the NSX’s slushbox downshifting out of corners in the way only an automatic can sound. Check out the video below.
This owner first posted up the video to (God bless his heart) find some advice for setting up his automatic NSX for his wife so she can enjoy a bit of road racing herself. In addition, he always wants to add a bit more power, like any car enthusiast wants to do.
This particular hot lap was during the New Jersey Motorsports Park’s track days where pretty much everyone with a car that’s not falling apart at the seams (and you also have all your safety equipment) can learn their car’s limits on a real deal circuit.
As mentioned, you can hear the NSX taking care of all the gear changes thanks to it being an automatic. Because it’s an NSX, the car handles pretty well around this circuit known for its tricky corners and elevation changes. But since it’s only four speeds and all this shifting is handled by the ECU, those epic downshifts out of corners aren’t something you can do. It sounds….different.
Towards the end of the video, he does catch up to a pair of other cars but doesn’t pass them because this is just a friendly track day after all.
Contrary to popular belief, yes, you CAN have fun on a track with an automatic NSX like this guy. You probably will want to monitor your ATF temps and maybe install an aftermarket ATF cooler if you’re seriously hotlapping on the regular.
It’s a little-known fact but all automatic first Gen NSX’s got stuck with a detuned 3.0L engine instead of the full power of the 3.0L or the more powerful 3.2L engine later on. That means instead of 270 HP and 210lb-ft or 290 Hp and 224 HP in the more powerful 3.2L engine, Acura relegated automatic NSX’s with 252 HP and 210 lb-ft. This was probably done because their automatic transmissions can’t reliably handle more power.
