In 1984 Honda commissioned Pininfarina to design the HP-X (Honda Pininfarina Xperimental),[1] which had a mid-mounted 2.0 L V6 configuration. The production NSX was designed by a team led by Chief Designer Ken Okuyama and Executive Chief Engineer Shigeru Uehara, who was also in charge of the S2000 project. Its first public appearances as the NS-X were at the Chicago Auto Show in February 1989, and at the Tokyo Motor Show in October 1989.[2] Japanese Formula One driver Satoru Nakajima was involved with the NSX's development, performing many duties related to chassis tuning. Brazilian Formula One driver Ayrton Senna and American Bobby Rahal also participated in the car's development.[3] Senna was given a NSX by Honda, although details of this car and its fate are unclear.[citation needed] Honda's breakthrough engineering in the NSX was a major contributor to the design of the McLaren F1 as mentioned in an interview with McLaren designer Gordon Murray. [4] "The moment I drove the NSX, all the benchmark cars--Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini--I had been using as references in the development of my car vanished from my mind. Of course the car we would create, the McLaren F1, needed to be faster than the NSX, but the NSX's ride quality and handling would become our new design target." The NSX was also the world's first all-aluminum and aluminum monocoque chassis production car, and was also marketed as the "Everyday Supercar" thanks in part to its ease of use, quality and reliability, traits that were unheard of in the supercar segment at the time.
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