Interesting Finds: 2003 Acura NSX-T

During Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale auction earlier this year, nearly 2,000 vehicles crossed the block at no reserve.  More than 190 of them set world records, and transactions totaled about $207 million.

One of the many eye-catching cars there was a 2003 Acura NSX-T in stunning Silverstone Metallic. This car had a few special things going for it – most notably its rare configuration. Let’s dive into the deets:

The NSX enthusiast community has consolidated production statistics for all vehicles from the first generation, which ranged between the 1991 and 2005 model years. According to the data on the NSX Prime forums, there were just 171 Silverstone NSXs from 2003. Taking the analysis a step further, there were 32 produced with black interior and 25 produced with gray interior. And lastly, when factoring in the transmission offerings for that year, only 3 four-speed automatics came out in Silverstone for 2003, and 2 of them had black interiors. Barrett-Jackson’s docket featured one of those special cars.

Adding to the mystique was the fact that the car had only 10,046 miles on the odometer. Even though its exterior design stayed attractive and relevant even in recent years, the car is now over 20 years old, so finding a particularly low mileage example such as this has become a challenge to say the least.

Here is a little bit of trivia worth noting: Automatic-equipped cars had a distinct engine. Specifically, they came with a 3.0-liter V6 that produced 252 horsepower. On the flipside, manual-equipped cars came with a 3.2-liter V6 with 290 horsepower. Whether that delta translates into a vast difference in the driving experience, I haven’t personally evaluated, but either power rating is more than ample for an all-aluminum two-seater that weighs only about 3,100 pounds. Besides, the NSX was engineered more for its optimal canyon-carving balance as opposed to its go-fast, straight-line abilities.

The strong enthusiast community for NSX cars is centered around its annual event called “NSXPO,” which is put on by the NSX Club of America (NSXCA). We have shared the NSXPO experience on The Journal before, and perhaps some of our readers will recall this story about the 2022 program in Arizona which attracted over 100 cars. NSXPO 2024 will take place October 23 through 27 in Grapevine, Texas, and registration will open up in the coming months to members of the club. Hopefully the lucky new owner of the Barrett-Jackson-sold NSX will make an appearance.

The selling price for this NSX-T was $95,700, which slotted only a little bit above its $89,000 original retail price. It is no mystery that the NSX marketplace has seen strong momentum in recent years. Some of it may have been driven by heightened awareness and attention for the nameplate when it made a comeback on a second-generation model in 2017 (it has since been discontinued). Do you think NSX values are on the rise, staying put, or making a decline? Let’s hear it in the comment section.