A 1991 Honda NSX that went underwater sold at auction for an astonishing price.
The Honda NSX is an icon of the Japanese auto industry, so buyers want to own these cars in any condition. A recent case from Japan proves it. A rare first-generation Honda NSX ended up at a Japanese auction after being seriously flooded.
The 1991 supercar was regularly repaired and upgraded before the flood, but floodwater rose nearly to the door handles. Despite the car's condition, buyer interest was unexpectedly high, and the final bid was many times higher than the starting price.
The car was sold at auction on Yahoo! Auctions Japan. The 1991 Honda NSX NA1 was finished in Formula Red and, until recently, had been the subject of significant investment by its owner.
In early 2026, the supercar was flooded by rising water. The water reached nearly to the door handles, which poses a serious risk of damage to the engine, interior, and numerous electronic components on the low-slung mid-engine NSX.
According to the listing, the engine was not started after the flooding. The buyer had to assess the consequences of the water damage and determine the extent of the restoration work required independently.
Notably, the car had already received a number of expensive upgrades before the flood. The current owner bought it in 2017 and had time to replace the power steering booster and ABS system, install a different automatic transmission, and perform work on the engine.
The most expensive work involved the powertrain. A rebuild of the stock 3.0-liter V6 was carried out at around 124,000 miles, costing about $13,000.
At the time of the sale, the Honda NSX had 147,123 miles on the odometer. After the flooding, the car was offered in "as-is" condition with no guarantee of restoration.
The starting bid was $6,500. For a car in working condition, that price would have been nowhere near its market value, but in this case, the buyer had to assume all the risks associated with the consequences of the flooding.
Despite this, 93 bids were placed during the two-week auction. In the end, the winning bidder offered $52,100, more than eight times the starting price.
The new owner must now decide whether the NSX is worth restoring or whether to use it as a source of parts. If the car is to return to the road, the list of required repairs could be extensive because of the depth of the flooding and potential damage to the powertrain, interior, and electronics.