JAS Motorsport has shown the first images of its finished Tensei, a carbon-bodied update of the original Honda NSX limited to 35 cars at €880,000 each, not including the donor vehicle.
Honda has not built another sports car quite like the original NSX, so JAS Motorsport has reworked the old one instead. The Italian firm has now shown its Tensei restomod in finished form. Until now, the car had only appeared in renderings.
The project brings back a familiar name. JAS worked with Pininfarina, which the source credits with a role in the original NSX design, to bring the 1990s shape up to date.
Still Clearly an NSX
The good news is that the Tensei has not lost its identity. It keeps the pop-up headlights and the integrated rear spoiler hoop, two details that defined the original car. Both ends now use LED lighting, including inside the pop-ups.
The wider track is the biggest visual change. The wheels now fill the arches properly, which gives the car a more muscular stance than any factory NSX had, Type R versions included. Every body panel is carbon fibre.
That carbon helps keep the dry weight to 1,250kg. It is a sensible figure for a car with this much extra hardware, though dry weight leaves out fluids, so the car will weigh more ready to drive.
Judd Takes on the V6
JAS decided the standard NSX drivetrain would not deliver the performance buyers expect from a modern supercar. It therefore asked Judd, a motorsport engine specialist, to rework Honda’s 3.0-litre V6.
The changes are significant:
- Displacement: increased from 3.0 to 3.4 litres
- Output: 420PS (414hp), up from the donor engine’s 280PS
- Rev limit: 8,500rpm, compared with 8,000rpm before
- Transmission: six-speed manual only, with a titanium gear lever
That is a 50 per cent increase in power, and the engine revs higher too. JAS says it sounds like a 1990s Grand Prix engine. That claim comes from the company itself, so we will wait to hear it before agreeing. Even so, a manual-only, high-revving naturally aspirated V6 is exactly what enthusiasts want to read about.
A Modern Cabin, With One Debatable Choice
Inside, the Tensei keeps the basic layout of the original cabin. The most obvious update is a digital instrument cluster. It is a modern touch, but it may divide purists who value the NSX’s analogue character.
Priced Well Beyond Its Roots
Production will be limited to 35 cars. Each costs €880,000 (about US$985,000), and buyers must also supply a donor car. Once that is added, the total cost is likely to pass US$1 million.
That puts the Tensei in a very different position from the car it is based on. When new, the NSX cost roughly the same as a Porsche 911. The NSX was praised for offering supercar ability at a price people could reach. This version is aimed at the kind of collector who already owns the hypercars the original once challenged.
