Honda NSX Tribute by Italdesign

The Honda NSX Tribute by Italdesign is not a remake. It is a careful re-reading of one of the most important sports cars ever built, approached with restraint, respect, and technical clarity.

At first glance, the car reveals its key idea: duality. The upper body, finished in Championship White NH0, directly references the first-generation NSX-R. It carries emotion, memory, and heritage. Below it, glossy black surfaces take over, grounding the car in function, aerodynamics, and performance intent. The contrast is deliberate and controlled.

A front defined by identity

The front end does most of the talking. Rather than copying historical shapes, Italdesign chose evocation. The graphic composition suggests the letter “H”, instantly readable as Honda, without becoming literal. The red NSX-R emblem returns, anchoring the concept firmly in history.

The traditional pop-up headlights are replaced by modern eyelids, integrated into a glossy black fairing. This treatment sharpens the car’s gaze and adds depth, precision, and tension while keeping the face clean and unmistakable.

Proportions, tension, and surface

According to Cristiano Fracchia, Senior Exterior Designer at Italdesign, the focus was on musculature and purity. The car sits low, with a sloping hood and a fully black greenhouse that visually lightens the upper mass. This choice reinforces speed even when the car is standing still.

From the side, the NSX Tribute feels compact and powerful. Sculpted white volumes are cut by black skirts, wheel arches, and roof elements. Floating fins on the C-pillar conceal air intakes for engine cooling, blending engineering needs into the visual structure. Yokohama tyres on staggered wheels, 19 inches at the front and 20 at the rear, complete the racing stance.

Aerodynamics as design

Nothing here is decorative. Spoilers, diffusers, skirts, and extractors are all studied as functional components first, visual elements second. The roof-mounted air intake is a direct reference to the NSX-R GT, a solution that was advanced even by today’s standards.

At the rear, the historic NSX floating spoiler is reinterpreted as a continuous suspended element. Gaspare Conticelli, Senior Exterior Designer, describes it as light, elegant, and functional. The rear lights emerge individually from the black surface, while the hot-air diffuser below features grooves inspired by Italdesign’s recent concept work.

An interior that knows when to stop

Inside, restraint continues. The goal was not to redesign the NSX cabin, but to refine it where needed. The original double-cockpit idea returns, now with a more fluid, modern execution.

Elements flow from the dashboard into the vents and door panels, creating continuity and a wraparound feel. The inspiration comes from Formula 1 cockpits, not visually, but structurally. The interior feels focused, connected, and driver-first, without theatrics.

Subtle references are placed for those who understand the story. A small helmet on the dashboard. The number 12. A discreet Honda script. Quiet nods to Ayrton Senna, whose involvement shaped the original NSX’s philosophy.

A tribute done the right way

Officially recognized by Honda, the NSX Tribute by Italdesign is a philological project in the truest sense. It studies the source deeply, extracts its core values, and re-expresses them using contemporary tools and thinking.

This is not nostalgia for display. It is a technically grounded, design-led few-off, curated end to end by Italdesign, from styling and engineering to ultra-limited production.

The result is a car that understands why the NSX mattered, and proves that respect, when paired with clarity, can still move design forward.