Acura to Open Up Sales of NSX GT3 Race Car

Honda Motor Co.’s Acura brand will make its NSX GT3 race car available to private owners later this year.

The carmaker has run the GT3-spec model in several race series since launching the vehicle last autumn, winning events in Detroit and Watkins Glens, N.Y. Acura says the car is eligible to compete in more than two dozen FIA-sanctioned series, including the the Pirelli World Challenge, WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Intercontinental GT Challenge, Japan’s Super GT and various Blancpain GT Series circuits.

The track-only GT3 is based on Acura’s NSX hybrid supercar. The racer shares that vehicle’s hand-built 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V-6 engine but doesn’t pair it with an electric motor.

In the GT3, the V-6 engine is paired with a racing-spec 6-speed sequential gearbox in place of the road car's 9-speed unit. Other differences include a standard roll cage and other race-specific features.

Acura will build the GT3’s carbon fiber chassis alongside the street model at the company’s Performance Manufacturing Center in Marysville, Ohio. Final assembly will be handled by JAS Motorsport in Italy.

Pricing in Europe will start at €465,000 ($544,000)—U.S. pricing hasn’t been announced. The street NSX has a base price in the U.S. of $157,000.