It is the 20th Anniversary edition
haha...I thought so, by the look of the wheels and I could see a little of the rear spoiler and side ground work.
Anyway, between the 2 cars it's really apples and oranges. I was the Parts Mgr. for Paul Miller Porsche in Parsippany a couple of years back, and I had the opportunity to drive many different Porsche models. Obviously some were faster and some were slower then the NSX, so for now I'll keep my comments to the 1988 911 we both owned.
acceleration
With all the work I did to my 911 the NSX still beats it hands down, and it should, it has over 70Hp on it. I have topped my 911 out at 155mph. at this point I was at redline in 5th gear, the car still had more power left, but no more gearing. The NSX I have had to 145mph so far and it gets there a hell of a lot faster. At that speed the NSX is still begging to go faster. The easiest way to explain it is the 911 had this incredible feeling of pull from around 4000RPM to 6000RPM especially in 2nd gear, imagine the same thing except in the NSX at 6000RPM it gets stronger, all the way up to 8000RPM. One thing my friend said the first time he drove in the car is, "the acceleration feels like it never going to stop!!"
handling
There are many different opinions on this, especially if you talk to true Porsche guys. The simple truth is the 911 has ungodly over steer. If you are lucky enough to have mastered the 911, then you were rewarded with a great handling car. For the rest of us, we are left biting our nails, hoping we have the right speed through a corner because we know if we lift we're dead. I have been auto-crossing for quite some time, my vehicle of choice is the CRX, I have had 4 of them. From the CRX I moved to my 911, and let me tell you, it's night and day. The CRX pushed, and the 911 wants to spin like a top. I could never get used to the dramatic over steer that car had. The NSX was such a relief, its mid engine gives it such a neutral feeling. You want it to under steer it will, you want to go heavy on the throttle and it will over steer as well. I am not an accomplished track driver, but I can tell you the NSX is far easier and rewarding for the everyday driver to have fun with. Plus once you master this car, it will give you just as much if not more than some other cars on the track. Trust me I have been in Peter Mill's (track instructor) 1997 NSX-T for a spin with him around Watkins Glen and the feeling was unreal!!
Comfort
For the wife and I the 911 was our weekend car. We drove it everywhere in the summer. One of my biggest complaints about the 911 is that I thought it was a horrible "grand touring" car. Sure it was great going to Atlantic City and getting out of a 911 at the valet. However, once the novelty wore off we found ourselves very uncomfortable. The 911 was loud, had a bad stereo, was narrow inside, didn't have a practical trunk (the front sloped down too much for tall things), had an extremely bad climate control system, and heat that would give me headaches from the exhaust fumes. It basically had all the bad stuff my 1971 Beatle had. When we got the NSX we were in heaven, that’s part of the reason we drove it so much this year. The car is so quiet inside, even with my new exhaust it's still not that bad. The stereo is (IMO) not bad at all, scale of 1-10 I would give it a 7 (the 911 I would give a 2). The ride is surprisingly soft, especially for being so low to the ground and handling so well. There are so many great points about the touring ability of this car, I could go on for ever.
Targa
There is not much to say here. The NSX when it is a targa is unlike any other car I have driven, convertibles included. With the top off you don't get blown away and you can still hear the radio. Roll up the windows and you barely get touched by the wind!! Great for those October nights flying through the woods looking at the moon!! My 911......forget it I had a small sliver of a sunroof that was somehow always in the right spot to blind me by the overhead sun.
attention
It's difficult to talk about this because many people claim that they don't care, but hey we are all human and most of us like to feel good about how we look and what we drive. The 911, like I said in the beginning was a blast. People recognized the car, and smiled, you got the occasional thumbs up, you know all the good stuff. With the NSX, forget it, people are constantly coming up to me and want to see the car, ask questions, ask what it is, race me, etc. Sometimes it's cool, other times it's annoying. Just some quick stories. The first week I had it my wife and I went into a 7-11 for some milk or something. We came out not even 5 minutes later and there was a crowd, no joke probably 8 or 9 people standing around it, talking amongst themselves. It was great I spent about 30 minutes there answering questions. Another time, Karen and I were at Woodbury Commons in Monroe, NY. When we were done shopping we came out and there was some guy having his picture taken while standing in front of my car!! I stunned the guy, he said he was sorry. I told him, "no big deal, do you want to sit in it and get your picture taken?" He smiled and said definitely.
the friends
Lastly, but to me most importantly are the people I have met while owning this car. I had a lot of experience with the PCNA when I had my 911, especially since I worked for a dealer. I have to say some people were nice, but more then a few were pretty snobby. Many times was I caught talking to a Porsche guy and he would say YOU have a Porsche, I would reply yeah. He would answer back what do you have a 924?? Then when I would say 911, they would ask what year!! It used to piss me off, they would break down owning a Porsche into sub-classes, and treat you according to what you owned. It was never good enough, you have a 944 well someone has a 911, you have a 911, well someone has a turbo. It would go on and on and on. The NSX is different, I tried to figure out why one day. I came up with the fact that not too many people know what the NSX really is, so the people that buy them do so because they are truly "enthusiasts", these types of owners aren't concerned with social standing, but more with having a good time. Every person I have met so far has been wonderful, I am happy to say that many have become good friends. Not once has someone made me feel out of place, nor have I witnessed anyone else being treated poorly.
Anyway, this was very long winded, but if you have read any of my other posts you will see that this is the norm. for me
As far as going out for a spin in my car, definitely when the weather gets better. If you have any more questions feel free to PM me.
Later,
John
