Miami Dreaming: The Spoon NSX-R GT

You should always meet your heroes.

There’s always a certain level of mystery associated with any idol, be it a movie star, a teacher, a photographer, or even a car. We don’t know everything about them; the finite details, the reality of their existence.

As with anything we’re biased towards, we fill these holes in one way or another. Most often, these lapses of evidence are filled with idealistic guesswork of what their seemingly magical lives must actually consist of.

On this note, it was a dark, windy night in Miami when we pulled up to a nondescript workshop. The lot was devoid of people and activity, but a distinctive, turbocharged howl sounded from around the block.

A unique profile suddenly pulled into the driveway, blinding me with its headlights. They flicked off, and my eyes adjusted. A roof-mounted intake, aggressive bodywork, and two-tone paintwork. It couldn’t be…

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But it was. The TypeONE Spoon Sports-tuned and built NSX-R GT; the wildest of surprises in the least likely of locations.

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Fresh off a quick blast around the neighborhood, to ensure all was in order, TRAP TEAM had just received shipment of the car. As starstruck as I was, it was as unique experience to see the car as I might see any other.

Full of little imperfections from its past life, it hadn’t been specially detailed, it wasn’t in a showroom, and it wasn’t being coddled either. In this moment it was just another car, one of millions in Miami.

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And yet, at the same time, this car carries on its shoulders colossal weight. A decade worth of development and history, the subject of countless daydreams, the poster car for thousands. The Spoon NSX.

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Dimensionally aggressive, beyond the aura of the car it simply has an attention-commanding physical presence. It’s just that bit longer, wider, and visually louder than a standard NSX. The aero and the classic Spoon livery give you no choice but to stare into its soul.

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The heavily built and tuned, naturally aspirated C32B that Dino showed us in detail seven years ago is long gone. In its stead, a turbocharged C30A good for over 540hp.

The setup certainly has a nice crackle to it, and I hope the guys at TRAP TEAM take up every chance they get to stretch its legs. After a previous weekend with the group, and their friends — where I discovered the Top Secret V12 Supra tucked into a garage — I’m sure they’ll make good use of the car.

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Inside, it appears less has changed since Dino’s feature. Very Japanese in its direct and deliberate execution, still an all-out race car and as business-oriented as ever.

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But now wearing a new version of RAYS Volk Racing TE37 in Saga form, it’s a car that manages to be very relatable.

If this just left you wanting more, TRAP TEAM does have a quick clip of the car on their website. Really, though, the more times I watch the clip and longer I look at this car, the more stories it seems to want to tell. Stories which I imagine can only be told through a planted right foot and a firm grip on the wheel.

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We’ve all seen NSXs, but there’s just something about this one, isn’t there? Forever a car that will only look at home on a race track, but now living a casual afterlife on the streets of Miami.

I’ll need to make my way back someday for a closer look but, for now, all I have to remember my encounter with this Japanese superhero are these photos.

The rest, left to imagination.

Trevor Yale Ryan
Instagram: tyrphoto
TYRphoto.com

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17 comments

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1
Daniel P Huneault

Thanks for the sound clip!!! Such an icon!

2

Such a beautiful piece of machinery, and all so iconic.

3
thathellastockusdm3rdgenyaris@instagram

its rad to see one of these things floating around from a bygone era of machines.

4

Yeah, they said they had a surprise, but I couldn't believe my eyes!

5

My ultimate dream is not a Ferrari nor a Lamborghini
It is the Spoon NSX-R GT

6

Broken door?

7

Haha no, he just didn't slam it hard enough. We filmed another clip, but the sound in this one is much better.

8

What's really crazy is to think about how far technology has come since this car was iconic. We have cars making double this horsepower with warrantees now.

9

Yes there are cars making over 500 Hp with warranty but this one has a body shape of the prime Raquel Welch and that is the difference.

10

Where as a wide body Z06 is somehow less attractive...right.

11

Well in theory this has a better power to weight than the latest ACURA NSX so that means this car should be quicker to 60 and 1/4 mile than the Skyline GT-R and perhaps beat the Mc Laren 570.

12
Brennan McKissick

It's cool that they are collecting all of these JDM icons and not locking them in a garage for no one else to see.

13

sorry but to me its just meh... V-tech yo and a broken door... To each their own I guess. I don't quite understand it myself but I've never really liked NSXs. Give me an FD or R32 over this any day... Sorry.

14

I used to think like you, and I own an R32, but I have come to realise the NSX is god-like even against an R34GTR so I thought I'd share the knowledge. Basically, it does not come down to vtec-yo at all: It comes down to it being one of the most brutal track machines and balanced sports cars of the time, for a fraction of the price. It was developed and tested by senna who gave it HELL on tracks where a ferrari of the time would have lasted 1 lap with the kind of braking and valve-bouncing the NSX was driven to. Basically, it is an incredibly well balanced and designed car, who could beat much more powerful and expensive supercars on the track purely because of how well it was made, not because of how powerful it was. Can't beat that, especially when Senna himself helped make it.

15

Thanks for your reply. I got into cars because of F1 and im a huge Senna fan and know all about his help developing the NSX (although from my research he basically just fine tuned the suspension setup to his driving style) That being said, that is another reason why Im honestly confused about why i dont particularly like the NSX lol. It really is a completely driver oriented car with no frills and just a perfect handling machine... So that might actually be why it never really did it for me, it might be too refined and too to the point. Maybe its the derivative engine that puts out "just enough" horsepower, or the overall practicality of the car that punches above its weight class. Maybe im looking for some flamboyancy that isnt there, or a bit of unpracticalness that tends to evoke more passion. I dont know, it just doesnt have the je ne se quois, the special sauce, the intangible allure of the unattainable... Just my 2c. And congrats on the r32!!!

16

Thank you right back! From the passion and thought behind your reply I can see your opinion is fully funded and justified, each to their own. I was misled by the vtec-yo call hahah but if there is substance behind an opposing view I am all for it! I cannot help but share some of your thoughts, for me it is the staleness too and that fact that it is guaranteed to turn on and never have issues. I thought it was a hideous Testarossa copy back in the day and I am falling for it more every day as it ages - especially the pop up gen. Just like the 300ZX, it's one of those cars that never got a second look from me back in the day, but that is now turning into royalty due to the dull modern alternatives....cheers

17

Lol, thanks. Its a nice breath of fresh air to have a discussion with someone based in logic and reasoning with an understanding that people may have different opinions huh?... If only all speedhunters comments were like ours hahah. And to that point, your well thought out examples and experiences actually made me rethink my general disinterest in the NSX. I can admit i will have to look at it in a new light now. Its obviously not a Ferrari or supercar, so why should I compare it to one... And yea sorry about the V-tech yo jab lol, I figured that would be the best way to get a response out of someone... maybe i was right? haha but still, low blow.
Cheers!

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