This Saturday marks the 30th anniversary of the original Acura NSX. Acura is commemorating the occasion by releasing a bunch of original concept design drawings of the car, and they're all rad as hell.
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These first few slides show the car in its nearly production-ready form, with the two-tone colors, five-spoke wheels, singular rear taillight (with integrated wing), and pop-up headlights.
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This design uses a slightly taller greenhouse and shorter overhangs compared to the previous sketches. Note the shorter wing and fixed headlights. It kind of reminds me of the Jaguar XJR-15.
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This one uses an upright rear window design, sort of like the Toyota MR2. This allowed for the artist to add louvers to vent air through the engine bay.
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This is probably the most forward-looking sketch of the group. The singular rear light bar, lack of side intakes, and sweet covered wheels certainly stand out.
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Interior design sketches range from nearly production-ready to out-right futuristic, as you're about to see.
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This interior sketch looks pretty close to the production design, though we don't think the seats had that much empty space behind them.
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This design clearly didn't make it very far, but it's incredibly cool. It uses a lot more curvature in the body compared to the production model, and those wheels look like they just came off a C4-generation Corvette.
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This yellow sketch sports much different proportions from the other designs, with a long front overhang, shorter rear, and a more upright windscreen.
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This is the first real, running, driving concept Acura ended up with. It's the very car that was shown at the Chicago Auto Show on February 9th, 1989.
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Here are some pictures from the 1989 show.
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And, lastly, the production model next to its modern equivalent. The NSX nameplate has come a long way.