Cars Featured in 2012 Movies: Acura NSX Roadster from the Avengers

Acura NSX Roadster from the Avengers

For the last couple of weeks, we have been talking about classic cars from the top blockbuster movies of 2012. Bruce Wayne’s Lamborghini Aventador. James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5. This week’s classic is a car that doesn’t exist yet, outside the movies. The Avengers was one of the most anticipated movies of 2012. At the end of it, Iron Man (played by Robert Downey, Jr.) and the Hulk (played by Mark Ruffalo) get into a dark red Acura convertible and drive away. It instantly became one of those movie cars that people covet. The problem is, the car that Tony Stark and Bruce Banner drive off in was a concept car, it won’t be available until 2015.
When Acura managed to edge Audi out of the exclusive right to have their cars featured in Marvel movies, they didn’t have a new sports car to feature. So they came up with the clever idea of taking the 1991 Acura NSX and giving it a roadster body. When the Acura NSX debuts in 2015, it will look very similar to the Avengers NSX. The nose will be less rounded, as will the tail. And of course, it will have a roof.
While the outside was made to look similar to the concept car, very little was done to the inside of the car. The seats were changed to new ProCar seats, the center console was painted Iron Man red, and electrical tape was used to fabricate top center vents. Otherwise, the interior was untouched, including the tape deck.
In an article written for Edmunds.com, David Maerk, Division Director for Design at Honda, said that he knew the car had to be reliable for filming. What could be more reliable than a car that already had 252,000 miles on it? Additionally, Maerk said they didn’t want a car that was “too nice to rip apart.”
They found the base car in Arizona. It was driven to California, where the company Trans FX went to work on it. Taking the body off the frame, they covered the frame with big blocks of foam and carved out a new body shape. The nose was made of milled fiberglass. While the outside of the car looks sleek and sexy, it is all show. If the car is driven over 15 miles an hour the bumpers are likely to fall off.
When the real Acura NSX debuts in 2015, it will look as hot as the movie version. It will have a mid-mounted V6 engine and a seven speed manual transmission. It is rumored that it will have 3 electric motors that will drive the wheels, and assist in braking and acceleration. Acura says that the car will be manufactured and developed in Ohio under the direction of Ted Klaus. At an expected price of $100,000 it will be slightly less costly than an Audi R8.