Much like the original, Honda's second-generation NSX was a car ahead of its time - too far for the showroom as it proved. Yet a decade after the NC1 made its debut, Ferrari and McLaren have both embraced turbocharged hybrid V6 supercars, validating Honda's technical foresight and ambition. 

Perhaps that's why Italdesign has decided the timing is right to revive the car and address its other major hurdle: styling. Where the 1990 NA1 possessed a signature rear light bar and fighter-jet canopy inspired glasshouse, its successor played it too safe with angular but conservative lines that felt more Acura than Japanese icon. The NSX Tribute targets that disconnect directly, rebodying the modern hybrid platform with design language drawn from the original car. 

Italdesign frames the Tribute as a forward-looking interpretation rather than a historical reconstruction. The overall proportions return to the low, clean silhouette of the first-generation car, with a sloping bonnet, compact glasshouse and a clear separation between upper and lower body forms. Only the front windscreen and wing mirrors remain untouched from the NC1. 

Upfront, a new headlight design incorporates a capital H housed within a dark fairing. Along the flanks, sculpted surfaces are paired with pronounced black skirts and wheel arches, while floating fins at the C-pillar conceal engine cooling intakes. 

At the rear, the historic NSX hoop spoiler has been reinterpreted as a continuous floating element, paired with exposed rear light units and an aggressive diffuser assembly below. The carbon roof scoop evokes the ultra-rare NSX-R GT, as do the new deep dish, five spoke alloy wheels in a staggered 19-inch front and 20-inch rear format. 

Tellingly, Italdesign's press release includes some original design sketches revealing clean wedge proportions and flowing surfacing that recalls the NA1's purity. The finished car, however, is less cohesive than envisioned, demonstrating the reality of working within the NC1's wheelbase, hybrid packaging and structural hard points. The result is more recognizable as an NSX than the car it's based on, but it also illustrates why the NC1's fundamental architecture resists attempts to recapture the original's visual clarity. 

Inside, Italdesign has taken a less radical approach, updating the NC1’s driver-focused, double-cockpit layout with contemporary materials and detailing. 

The NSX Tribute will be officially unveiled at the 2026 Tokyo Auto Salon, and is set to enter limited production in right-hand drive form, with a rumoured price tag in excess of one million USD, meaning this is one for only the most devout and well-heeled Honda fans.