JAS Motorsport's Honda NSX Tensei: 414 hp, 35 cars, from €880,000

JAS Motorsport has unveiled the finished Tensei, its long-awaited restomod of the Honda NSX. The Italian operation gave the Japanese Youngtimer a new carbon-fiber body designed by Pininfarina and a motorsport-derived V-6, and it plans to build just 35 examples.

Pricing starts at €880,000, or roughly $985,000. The final cost will likely be higher, because that figure does not include the donor car. Each build begins with an original NSX that is stripped down to its nuts and bolts before the rebuild starts.

Tensei means rebirth in Japanese, and the project aims to lift the NSX to supercar status. The original debuted in 1990, following more than half a decade of development, as Honda's attempt to match the best sports cars coming out of Europe.

Sold in North America as an Acura, the first NSX paired a pioneering all-aluminum body with a V-Tech V-6 making nearly 300 hp. It became a cult classic because it was a rare high-performance car that could also work as a daily driver.

Pininfarina's new shell is not radically different from what came before. It smooths out some of the sharper elements, which makes the car more aerodynamic and helps accentuate iconic features such as the pop-up headlights and the integrated rear wing.

JAS has history with this car. The Italian operation has worked with Honda since the late 1990s and helped develop the GT3 race car version of the second-generation NSX. Despite that, the automaker has no involvement in the Tensei project.

What changed under the skin

For the engine, JAS tapped U.K.-based Judd Power. The revitalized V-6 still uses the original Honda block but gains a redesigned crankshaft, light-alloy cylinder heads and titanium valves. Output rises from nearly 300 hp in the original car to 414 hp.

Torque is 305 ft lbs, routed to the rear axle by a six-speed manual transmission. No automatic is mentioned, which keeps the car in line with the driver-focused character the NSX earned in the early 1990s.

The restomod weighs 2,756 pounds, close to 300 pounds less than the original car. Carbon-fiber bodywork replaces the aluminum shell, so the lighter mass and the extra output both work on the power-to-weight figure.

Every donor car is dismantled completely before reconstruction. The carbon-fiber body goes on the rebuilt car, and the engine work is carried out on the original Honda block rather than on a replacement unit.

What buyers are paying for

At 35 units, the Tensei is tightly limited. The €880,000 starting price covers the conversion only, so the total depends on what a buyer pays for the donor NSX, which the figure does not include.

The package combines Pininfarina styling, Judd Power engineering and a relationship with Honda that goes back to the late 1990s. It does not include any backing from the automaker, which the project has said plays no part.

JAS has not stated how the donor cars will be sourced, or what a finished Tensei costs once a donor is added. Those are the numbers that will decide what an owner actually pays for one of the 35.

The finished car arrives after a long wait, since the project had been anticipated for some time. With the body, engine, weight and price now confirmed, the Tensei can be judged on its figures rather than its promise.