Acura, the Japanese luxury automotive brand owned by Honda, has announced that Tony Stark's Acura NSX Roadster from "The Avengers" will appear for the first time in more than a decade at Monterey Car Week in the USA, writes UNN with reference to Autoblog.
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The Roadster will be showcased at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering on August 15 as part of Acura's celebration of the 35th anniversary of the first-generation NSX.
In addition, Acura stated that it plans to auction off the NSX Stark Roadster for charity and will begin accepting bids for the auction in Monterey next year. In addition to the NSX Roadster, equipped with a special Stark 33 license plate, Acura's stand at the Quail exhibition will also feature excellent production NSX models.
These include a 1995 NSX-R, which was never sold in the US, and a 1999 Zanardi Edition – a limited-edition model released in honor of the racer's two consecutive victories in the CART Champ Car championships. The older cars will be presented alongside the RSX Prototype, Honda's newest electric vehicle, and Acura's upcoming electric crossover.
Tony Stark's NSX Roadster appeared on the big screen in a landmark year for Honda's luxury brand. Before the film's release in May 2012, the NSX concept (coupe) debuted at the Detroit Auto Show and then appeared in star-studded Acura commercials featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Leno during the Super Bowl.
The production version of the second-generation NSX itself only hit the roads in 2016, but before that, the Roadster also appeared on the red carpet during the premiere of "The Avengers" with Robert Downey Jr. behind the wheel.
However, according to Acura, the car driven by the actor from the "Iron Man" film was not some pre-production prototype with beta technology. The Roadster was created specifically for the film by the Hollywood company Trans FX and designed by the Acura Design Studio team in Los Angeles under the direction of then-Acura Creative Director Dave Marek.
Notably, the handcrafted resin and fiberglass body of the cinematic Roadster was mounted on an "old" 1991 first-generation NSX with over 252,000 miles. In addition to the unique body, the ride height was lowered, 18-inch wheels (45-46 cm) and bucket seats were installed.
"We knew it had to be a reliable car for filming, not just a static exhibit, and we couldn't think of anything more reliable than the original Acura NSX," Marek said.