One of the test mules was a Honda City that had been cut in half, with the engine installed behind the driver's seat and powering the rear wheels.

In the F-16 and other high performance aircraft such as unlimited hydroplanes along with open-wheel race cars, the cockpit is located far forward and in front of the power plant.

This "cab-forward" layout was chosen to optimize visibility while the long tail design enhanced high speed directional stability.

The NSX was the first production car to feature an all-aluminium semi-monocoque,[12] incorporating a revolutionary extruded aluminium alloy frame and suspension components.

Respected Japanese Formula One driver Satoru Nakajima, for example, was involved with Honda in the NSX's early on-track development at Suzuka race circuit, where he performed many endurance distance duties related to chassis tuning.

This process was repeated over and over, with the data results sent directly to Honda headquarters in Japan, where it was fed into a Cray supercomputer and translated into reinforcements in the production aluminum monocoque.

The suspension development program was similarly far-ranging and took place at the Tochigi Proving Grounds, the Suzuka circuit, the 179-turn Nürburgring Course in Germany, HPCC, and Honda's newest test track in Takasu, Hokkaido.

[20] While the NSX always was intended to be a world-class sports car, engineers had made some compromises in order to strike a suitable balance between raw performance and daily driveability.

Beginning in late November 1992, Honda produced a limited number of 483 NSX-R variants exclusively for the Japanese domestic market (JDM).

Factory optional equipment such as air conditioning, Bose stereo system, carbon fibre interior trim on the centre console as well as the doors and larger wheels painted in Championship White (16-inches at the front and 17-inches at the rear) were available for a hefty premium.

[23] Beginning in 1995, the NSX-T with a removable targa top in black colour was introduced in Japan as a special order option and in North America in March 1995.

The removable roof resulted in decreased chassis rigidity and Honda added about 100 pounds (45 kg) of structural reinforcements to compensate, including significantly thicker frame sidesill rocker panels (the body component which contributes most to the chassis's rigidity[25]), bulkheads, roof pillars and the addition of new front/rear bulkhead and floorpan crossmembers.

The targa models, manufactured for the rest of the NSX's production run through 2005, sacrificed weight and some of the original coupé's chassis rigidity in return for an open cockpit driving experience.

A lighter version of the variable-ratio, electric-assisted power steering rack, previously found exclusively in the cars equipped with the automatic transmission, became standard on all models.

Manual transmission cars received an improved Torque Reactive limited-slip differential – when combined with a new Throttle-By-Wire system, increased corner exit speeds by 10%.

Along with the engine displacement increase in 1997, Japan exclusively received the NSX Type S. The Type S was intended to be a "winding road" optimized trim option and incorporated several weight-reducing features to improve performance: Titanium Shift Knob, MOMO Zagato-style steering wheel, BBS lightweight aluminium wheels(16"/17") and a lightweight rear spoiler.

The Type S also carried over several weight reducing features from the earlier NSX-R: Recaro full bucket carbon-kevlar Alcantara/leather seats, mesh design engine cover, single-pane rear glass, manual rack and pinion steering and a lightweight battery.

[30] However, due to its premium trim level, customers could add options like navigation, electric power steering, HID xenon headlights and fog lights, partially negating some of the weight savings.

[30] Honda also extensively revised the Type S suspension to incorporate much stiffer front dampers and a thicker rear sway bar.

In a handling test in Road & Track's June 1999 issue, the Zanardi NSX placed second against the Dodge Viper GTS-R, Lotus Esprit, Porsche 911 Carrera 4, Ferrari F355 Spider, and Chevrolet Corvette C5 Coupé.

The car is rumored to have been modified by Honda with hand-activated throttle, braking, and shifting mechanisms to accommodate Zanardi's loss of both legs resulting from his Lausitzring crash in 2001.

Carbon fibre was used to a large extent throughout the body components to reduce weight, including a larger and more aggressive rear spoiler, vented hood and deck lid.

Additionally, the original NSX-R's weight reduction techniques were repeated, including deletion of the audio system, sound insulation and air conditioning.

[37] Officially, Honda maintains that the power output of the 2002 NSX-R's engine is rated at 290 hp (220 kW), which is identical to the standard NSX.

[40] The result of Honda's second NSX-R effort was a vehicle that could challenge the latest sports car models on the track, despite having a base design that was more than 15 years old.

For example, noted Japanese race and test driver Motoharu Kurosawa piloted a 2002 NSX-R around the Nürburgring road course in 7:56, a time equal to a Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale.

Production of NSX-R GT, as limited edition of NSX-R, was approved at Honda solely to win at the JGTC and Super GT, because its production-based race car homologation required additional handicap weight for NSX reasoning by such as relatively small aero-projected-area and mid-ship layout, and overcoming the handicap was very difficult in 2003 and 2004 seasons.

In the JGTC NSX race cars however, this snorkel is fully functional, feeding outside air to an individual throttle body intake plenum.

The suspension was completely replaced by a custom setup with race dampers and aluminum control arms mated to center-nut style wheel hubs.

The C30A engine was extensively revised to include a dry sump oiling system, larger cams, inconel exhaust headers and, for the GT2 cars, a massive carbon fiber intake plenum with six individual throttle bodies.