JAS Tensei: The Honda NSX Reborn by Pininfarina
Some cars are remembered for their numbers. The original Honda NSX stayed with us for a different reason: it made the supercar feel usable, precise and human. That is a difficult thing to bring back without turning nostalgia into costume. The JAS Tensei has my attention because it seems to understand the difference.
The JAS Tensei’s final exterior design. Image: JAS Motorsport / Pininfarina.
Tensei means “rebirth” in Japanese. JAS Motorsport’s first road-going supercar takes the first-generation NSX as its starting point, but this is not a new Honda. It is an independent project by the Italian motorsport company, with Pininfarina responsible for the exterior and interior design. JAS says just 35 cars will be built, at its atelier in Arluno, near Milan. JAS’s original announcement and its production details set out the project’s scope.
The body is entirely carbon fibre, and the proportions make the Tensei look less like an exercise in retro styling than a serious re-reading of the NSX. Pininfarina has kept the low, mid-engined shape and the car’s visual connection to its predecessor, while giving it a wider, more assertive stance. Even the pop-up headlights remain, reworked with modern lighting. I like that choice: it keeps one of the NSX’s defining gestures instead of sanding away every detail that might feel old-fashioned.
JAS Tensei at its Paris presentation. Photograph © ANSA/JAS.
Underneath, the Tensei retains the original NSX’s aluminium chassis architecture, re-engineered for the new car. The engine follows a similar philosophy. JAS appointed British specialist Judd Power to rebuild and develop the naturally aspirated 3.5-litre V6, starting from the first-generation NSX engine. That decision feels right to me. In a landscape increasingly shaped by turbocharging and electrification, a high-revving V6 with a manual gearbox makes a clear statement about the kind of connection this car wants to offer. JAS’s announcement of its Judd partnership confirms the engine’s origins and development programme.
At its Paris presentation, Quattroruote reported 420 CV, a six-speed manual transmission and a dry weight of 1,250 kg. JAS’s own published materials focus on the car’s design, engineering partners and limited production rather than a complete technical data sheet.
Design details on the limited-run Tensei. Photograph © ANSA/JAS.
The cabin follows the same restraint. JAS describes a driver-focused interior with customisable finishes and a deliberate avoidance of unnecessary technology. That sounds more convincing than filling a modern restomod with screens and calling it progress. The original NSX was special because its engineering served the drive. The Tensei seems to be reaching for that same clarity through a very different era of materials and craftsmanship.
The Tensei brings the NSX silhouette into a new, limited-series form. Photograph © ANSA/JAS.
I will reserve judgement on how it drives until there is a proper road test. But as an idea, the Tensei is compelling: not an attempt to pass as a forgotten factory prototype, and not a tribute assembled from familiar cues. It is a rare, carefully remade interpretation of a car that already knew what it wanted to be. That is a much harder—and more interesting—way to bring an icon back.
Sources: JAS Motorsport and Pininfarina: design reveal · JAS Motorsport: project announcement · JAS Motorsport: Judd Power engine development · Quattroruote: technical details reported at the Paris presentation
