“If you don’t take a challenge, you will never succeed,” remarked two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato during the closing ceremonies of this year’s largest gathering of Acura NSX owners.
At roughly 1,000 members strong, the NSX Club of America is a vibrant and strong enthusiast community complete with regional leaders, a quarterly magazine, and an annual meet-up. This year, the activities converged in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where the Hilton DFW Lakes hotel in Grapevine played host to the group. (Here is my write-up of an NSXPO held in Arizona a couple of years ago.)
The NSX, Honda and Acura’s halo performance car, existed in two distinct generations. The first, from 1991 through 2005, was a mid-engined two-seater with aluminum chassis architecture and a VTEC-equipped V6. The second generation arrived after a hiatus of more than a decade; it launched in 2017 and was offered as a twin-turbocharged V6 hybrid that leveraged triple electric motors.
While vastly different in design and engineering, both NSX variants delivered the joy of driving that NSX Club members love.
An NSX-perience to Remember
NSXPO 2024 kicked off with performance driving at G2 Motorsports racetrack in Anna, followed by a parade lap for anyone who wished to participate. The social component of the program centered around the Hilton in Grapevine, where a special parking lot had been set aside for the array of sports cars. Event leaders, pulled together by event director Terrence Brown, set up a schedule that would allow NSX owners to experience the area’s scenery, attractions, roads, and food. The itinerary included:
- Visit to the Fort Worth Stockyards
- Drive through the countryside
- Dinner and socializing in downtown Grapevine
- Car show at Grubbs Acura
- Group photo in front of the Dallas skyline
- Gala dinner, presentations, awards, auctions, and a guest speaker
Highlights
I made the drive to NSXPO from Phoenix, which came out to 2,307 miles round-trip, in my Formula Red 1992 NSX five-speed. Despite having 120,000 miles on the odometer, the car has been extremely reliable and I had no reservations about taking it on the long haul.
I’ve said this before about the National Acura Legend Meet, but the sense of community is something special with these events. Here are a few examples:
- This year, the NSX Club of America partnered with the Make-A-Wish Foundation for charitable contributions and managed to raise over $37,000 for children with medical needs.
- There were at least two father-and-son NSX-owning partnerships in attendance. John and Tyler Boje were recognized for their enthusiasm and participation. John is the original owner of a first-generation NSX with low mileage. His son Tyler drives a second-generation car with some upgrades.
- IndyCar and former Formula 1 race driver Takuma Sato shared some motivational words with the community, including the importance of accepting challenges. He said, “Racing is a science as well as a sport.” His message provided inspiration about overcoming obstacles.
Closing Ceremony
While all 130-someodd NSXs in attendance this year were deserving of recognition, a team of judges had the daunting task of selecting about 10 stand-out vehicles and their respective owners. Categories included considerations for cars that were stock as well as those that were modified. Additional awards were given out for the highest-mileage car (which had over 390,000 miles on it) and the individual who drove the longest distance to the event (who came all the way from Vancouver, British Columbia).
NSXPO most certainly could not have taken place without all the contributions of the volunteers and sponsors who made it happen, so those groups were recognized accordingly. From start to finish, NSXPO checked all the boxes that make for an enjoyable automotive outing. No matter the make or model that a car fanatic clings to, the feeling of a “car family” is relatable and applies universally within our hobby.
Coming Attractions
Ken Sax, known as the only individual who has attended every NSXPO since it started in 1997, remarked, “We didn’t expect this to be an annual thing when we put the first one together in Denver 27 years ago.” Clearly, the idea caught on.
The official announcement has been made that NSXPO 2025 will be held in Seattle, Washington next September. Stay connected to The ClassicCars.com Journal for event coverage when we get there!
Comments are closed