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"The special race NSX brings to mind the bold driving styles of racers Loic Duval and Katsuyuki Hiranaka."
―In-game catch text for the car, from GT7's car collection

The Honda NSX GT500 '08 is a race car produced by Honda. It appears in Gran Turismo 5, Gran Turismo 6, Gran Turismo Sport, as part of Update 1.29, and Gran Turismo 7.

The car appears to be the #32, driven by Loïc Duval and Katsuyuki Hiranaka, who achieved a 10th place finish in the 2008 Super GT season. This is reflected by the name it had prior to GT7, Honda EPSON NSX '08.

In-game description[]

"A car that brings to mind the bold driving of Loic Duval and Katsuyuki Hiranaka."

The Super GT Series has been the most popular touring car racing series in Japan, even when operating under its former name, the JGTC (Japanese Grand Touring Championship). In 2007, new regulations for top-tier GT500 cars called for a skidplate measuring 1.1 inches to be added beneath the car, in an effort to reduce cornering speeds. This new rule hardly had an effect on the Honda NSX as it went on to win five of that year's nine races.

The following season, while the NSX teams were allowed to use the same successful chassis as the previous year (thanks to a regulation that required the main frame be used two years in a row), the rules committee decided to allow other cars to catch up by imposing a 50 kg weight handicap to the NSX (this was reduced to 40 kg from Round 3 on). In addition, the committee imposed smaller engine restrictions for the cars, which slowed the NSXs down even more.

In response, Honda revised the specifications of its 3494-cc 32B V6 for added throttle response, improved the car's aerodynamics, and made it lighter.

There were 5 NSXs competing that year, and the EPSON NSX - run by Nakajima Racing - was the only machine on Dunlop tires, making this squad the odd man out when it came to data sharing with the other NSX teams. But driver Loic Duval and Katsuyuki Hiranaka exceeded everyone's expectations, finishing second in the 8th round at Autopolis, which was their highest placing of the year.

Café Conversations (GT7)[]

Jeremy[]

Did you know that there is a full-scale paper model of this EPSON NSX? Really, Epson commissioned Japanese paper artist Hitoshi Shinozaki to build one. It's entirely made of cardboard, including the tyres and other round parts. It looks like the real thing, like it could drive off at a moment's notice! ...Ahem. But I digress. The real NSX competed under Epson colours in Japanese GT races from 2004 to 2009. At the time, the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship was evolving into the international Super GT. The EPSON NSX competed in the latter half of the 2008 Series, where it came in second in the 8th round.

Kunihisa Ito[]

The prototype and final production model of the original NSX... Was designed by my friend and former chief designer at Honda, Masato Nakano. The performance target for the NSX was to surpass the Ferrari 328 and 348... So you know it had plenty of fighting power. The GT500 class adopted a stepped-bottom rule in 2007, and that year this car took the title, winning 5 of 9 races. Because of its incredible speed, you can almost say the series imposed a weight-handicap system. The following year, in 2008, the NSX's highlight was a 2nd-place finish in the 8th race of the season at Autopolis.

Acquisition[]

Game Purchase location Credits Other methods
Gran Turismo 5 Honda Dealership (Lv. 19+) 950,000 ---
Gran Turismo 6 Honda Dealership 950,000 ---
Gran Turismo Sport
(Update Iconv1.29+)
Honda Brand Central 800,000 ---
Gran Turismo 7 Honda Brand Central 800,000 ---

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • The EPSON NSX is the only previously Premium Honda car to appear in Gran Turismo Sport. This is because the car is a part of the 2008 Super GT roster.
  • Following the addition of Honda NSX GT500 '00 in GT7 version 1.48, the car's Engine Model field was updated to C32B-NSX-GT500-'08.

Notes[]

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