Honda NSX first generation restomod – beautiful JAS Tensei designed by Pininfarina with carbon body, 3.0L NA V6 – paultan.org

As far as automotive legends go, there isn’t much that can touch the original Honda NSX these days. The groundbreaking Japanese mid-engine sports car may not be a fast car by today’s standards, but its rarity, sharp, low-slung design and compelling backstory – which involves a certain Mr Senna – make it incredibly highly sought after, and its rising values ​​reflect that.

For those who can afford to spend even more money on it, Honda’s long-time European racing partner JAS Motorsport has come up with a stunning restomod, the Tensei. Named after the Japanese word for “rebirth,” it’s a modernized version of the fighter jet-esque classic (which this writer is almost as old as, darn it), and takes a page from the Singer playbook.

To make it, JAS requires buyers to provide an original NA1/NA2 NSX that allows it to do unspeakable things. Just the thought of taking a chainsaw to a priceless one would probably send purists into a tailspin, but the end result is – as you can see from these images – absolutely breathtakingly beautiful.

Designed by none other than Pininfarina (quite coincidentally, given the design house’s involvement with the NSX early in the design process), the carbon fiber bodywork retains all the styling cues that mark the car as a design icon, including the all-black F-16-inspired hood, sweeping arching rear spoiler and, most importantly, the NA1’s pop-up headlights.

But look closer and you’ll see subtle curves where there were once straight lines. The fenders are slightly more muscular, the side air intakes are better integrated into the rest of the design, the door mirrors are slimmer and the slim front turn signals and full-width U-shaped taillights feature slim LED bars to bring them completely up to date.

Other parts have been made more aggressive to suit modern design tastes, such as the front bumper, the ventilated hood and front fenders and the large diffuser with vertical twin exhaust pipes. The carbon L-shaped bumper corners may be a bit too bizarre, but that’s about all I can think of about the styling. The whole is accentuated by some trendy Y-spoke alloy wheels with central locking.

No images of the interior, but JAS confirmed that the cabin has also been redesigned by Pininfarina – which is a good thing, because that’s the one area where the NSX really shows its age. The Tensei will also bring old-school driving thrills in this era of widespread turbocharging and electrification, as it will be powered by a 3.0-liter naturally aspirated V6 – hopefully mated to an old-school six-speed manual transmission.

There’s no word on how much the Tensei will cost, but considering even early NA1s are regularly advertised for upwards of RM500,000, you can expect to pay millions for the privilege of owning an upgraded ‘new’ one. Perhaps the money is worth it for the irony that the car that was meant to teach the Italians a lesson ended up being made better by a company in Milan.

GALLERY: 1990 Honda NSX in Malaysia

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