Acura Is Showing Off Tony Stark's NSX Drop-Top at Monterey Car Week
Back in 2012, Honda and Acura fans got a little treat at the movies
The first film in Marvel's highly successful Avengers crossover series was released in the summer of 2012. While the series would prove to be huge blockbusters individually, the first film set numerous box office records. It grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing movie of 2012 and among the highest-grossing films of all time.
Though the film itself was a key marker in the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe, gearheads, particularly Honda and Acura fans, got a special treat towards the end of the film. In the final scene, Tony Stark, the man behind the Iron Man suit, played by Robert Downey Jr., drove away in a different sports car than the Audi R8 in previous Iron Man films: a Burgundy-colored roadster version of the Acura NSX concept car.
You can see Tony Stark's Acura in the flesh at Monterey
In an announcement released on August 12, Acura announced that the very Acura NSX Roadster from The Avengers will make its first public appearance in more than a decade during Monterey Car Week. Specifically, the roadster will appear at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering on August 15, as part of Acura's celebration of the 35th anniversary of the first-generation NSX.
In addition, Acura said it plans to auction the Stark NSX roadster for charity and will start accepting interested bidders at Monterey for a chance to participate in the auction next year. Alongside the NSX roadster, which is complete with the custom 'Stark 33' New York license plate, Acura's booth at the Quail will also showcase notable production NSX examples.
These include a 1995 NSX-R, which was never sold in the United States, and a 1999 Zanardi Edition, a limited edition model built to celebrate the race car driver's back-to-back CART Champ Car championships. The older vehicles will be showcased alongside the RSX Prototype, Honda's newest electric vehicle, and the Acura brand's future electric SUV offering.
View the 4 images of this gallery on the original article
Tony Stark's "new" NSX was a truly bespoke machine
Tony Stark's NSX Roadster appeared on the silver screen during a notable year for Honda's luxury brand. Prior to the film's release in May 2012, the NSX concept (in coupe form) made its debut at the Detroit Auto Show and subsequently appeared in a star-studded Acura Super Bowl ad featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Leno.
The actual production version of the second-generation NSX wouldn't hit the streets until 2016, but before then, the roadster would also make an appearance at the red carpet during the premiere of the Avengers film with Robert Downey Jr. behind the wheel.
View the 2 images of this gallery on the original article
However, according to Acura, the very vehicle that the Iron Man and True Believer actor drove was not some sort of pre-production prototype with beta-version technology. The roadster was created specifically for the film by Hollywood fabricators Trans FX and penned by a team at the Acura Design Studio in Los Angeles, led by then-Acura Creative Director Dave Marek.
Interestingly, the movie roadster's hand-crafted resin and fiberglass body was fitted onto a "well-used" first-generation 1991 NSX with over 252,000 miles on the clock. In addition to the bespoke body, it's had its ride height dropped by 2 inches, fitted with 18-inch wheels, and aftermarket bucket seats.
"We knew it would have to be a reliable vehicle for filming, not just a static display, and we couldn't come up with anything that would be more reliable than an original Acura NSX," Marek said in a statement.
Final thoughts
I am not that big of a Marvel fan, but I remember watching that movie with my cousins in a movie theater shortly after it was released while on vacation in Virginia Beach. I fell asleep during the entirety of the film, only to wake up to see Downey Jr.'s character drive away in the NSX.
Given this vehicle's provenance, I hope that it falls into the hands of a museum or some sort of collection that can be publicly viewed when the hammer drops next year. This vehicle is not only a piece of movie memorabilia but a footnote in Honda and Acura's history.
Acura Is Showing Off Tony Stark's NSX Drop-Top at Monterey Car Week first appeared on Autoblog on Aug 12, 2025
This story was originally reported by Autoblog on Aug 12, 2025, where it first appeared.
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