Acura Is Selling The NSX Roadster From Marvel’s The Avengers
If you’re a wealthy superhero nerd who also happens to like cars and bidding at high-dollar auctions, then we have big news for you. Acura just announced that it will be auctioning off the custom one-off NSX roadster featured in Marvel Studios’ The Avengers. Driven by Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark, the vehicle was seen speeding off at the end of what would be the highest grossing movie of 2012. For the last 13 years the car has been stored in some top-secret Acura bunker, but soon you could have the chance to keep it in your own garage.
How To Get the Avengers Acura NSX
Acura is including the NSX in its Monterey Car Week activities and to look for “hand raisers” willing to bid on the movie car in an auction set to take place sometime in 2026. The proceeds of the auction will go to charity, and the winner will go home with what could be the holy grail of all nerdy collectables. So, if you’re at Monterey right now then you might want to high-tail it to the Acura exhibit and make your interest known so you can be part of the auction next year.
It’s unclear if there are other ways to register interest in bidding on the NSX, but I’ve reached out to Acura about that and will update this article once I get further information. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t look at plane tickets to Monterey after getting Acura’s statement.
UPDATE 8/13/25: An Acura representative responded to my question about other opportunities to register interest in the auction. “This will not be the only hand-raising opportunity,” said the Acura rep. “The initial interest will be collected at [Monterey Car Week], then more opportunities before it goes to auction.” Good news for interested parties who can’t be in Monterey this week. I’ll try to report on those future opportunities as they arise.
The NSX Looks Faster Than It Is
The Avengers came out in 2012, but back then the second-gen NSX was still just a concept. Acura and Marvel Studios knew that for the shot in the film to work, a drivable car was needed, but the second-gen NSX didn’t exist yet so how were they going to pull it off? By using a first-generation NSX instead. Yep, underneath this second-generation NSX roadster concept is a first gen model. The solution made perfect sense to Acura.
“We knew it would have to be a reliable vehicle for filming, not just a static display, and we couldn’t come up with anything that would be more reliable than an original Acura NSX,” said Dave Marek, executive advisor at Acura who served as the automaker’s Creative Director at the time the car was built.
The roadster was designed by the Acura Design Studio in Los Angeles and built by Trans FX, in Oxnard. To create the car, Trans FX cut the roof off a 1991 NSX that was sent to them from Acura’s fleet.
Then the body—made from resin and fiberglass—was bolted on to the older NSX’s frame. It was also given a two-inch suspension drop and a set of custom wheels and seats. The dashboard and steering wheel are actually the stock pieces from the 1991 car. The stock engine remains as well, but because the top was cut off and nothing was done to shore up the chassis for rigidity, it’s not really recommended to drive the car faster than 30 mph. That’s plenty fast for a quick drive off scene, but whoever ends up owning this car likely won’t be going on any road trips with it.
Today, the car sits exactly as it was 13 years ago down to the “STARK 33” New York license plate.
Good Luck
There’s no telling how much a movie car and collectable of this stature will fetch at auction but considering that Acura is gauging interest at Monterey Car Week—an event that attracts millionaires and billionaires from all over the world—it’s safe to say it won’t go for cheap.
In the meantime, I’ll follow this story as close as I can until the gavel drops. Who knows? Maybe I’ll be among the bidders myself if I manage to sell one of my kidney’s before the car crosses the auction block.