The 911 GT3 Honda Used For NSX Benchmarking Contained A Hidden Message From Porsche

When chatting to Nick Robinson - vehicle dynamics project leader for the NSX - last month, he went through a list of cars the team had used for benchmarking. An Audi R8 GT was one of them, as was a 991 Porsche 911 GT3. Nothing unusual there - manufacturers often purchase rival cars to study and learn from various aspects, and in the case of the 911 it was to examine the exceptional steering. Only, the idea is you’re not supposed to get found out by the manufacturer.

Honda had initially managed this, however speaking to Automotive News, Robinson told of how Porsche discovered the real owner of the GT3 in question. The car was recalled by Porsche to change the con rods, at which point it seems the game was up.

Upon the car’s return, Honda’s engineers found a cheeky little message left under the engine cover: “Good luck Honda from Porsche. See you on the other side.” I think we can take that as Porsche saying ‘bring it on,’ don’t you?

Robinson also spoke about the McLaren 12C his team studied, which was never ‘discovered’ by the British manufacturer, although there was a little curiosity as to what they’d been up to with it. “They wanted to know, where did you go 205 mph? What track?” Robinson said.

To find out what sort of car all this benchmarking and studying resulted in, make sure you read our full Honda NSX review.