1991 Acura NSX

The title seems fitting for this brain surgeon from the Cincinnati, Ohio. Ron Warnick first embarked upon his memorable journey shortly after Independence Day in 1997 when he scooped up his '91 Acura NSX for a cool $31 grand. As with many car enthusiasts, Warnick immediately began to daydream about the plethora of modifications, transitions, and upgrades that he had in store for his new baby.

Of the many ideas, only the Tubi aftermarket exhaust came to reality. Warnick seemed to always have an excuse of some kind to let his other plans for the NSX fall by the wayside. That is until his good friend passed away from brain cancer in 2002. For Warnick the tragic event was a wake-up call, reminding him that life is too short. He took the plunge into a massive project to transform Acura's first commercial sports car into a next-generation performance vehicle from top to bottom. After five years of dedication, Warnick's dreams were finally realized.

Maintaining his next generation theme, Warnick chose to ditch the archaic factory radio for something a little more high tech, a Xenarc MP-FL11 computer. The Xenarc CPU is hidden under a trunk access panel and functions as the brains of the audio system, processing the audio material through its internal Creative Lab sound card.

Warnick scrapped the factory dash for a custom one fabricated out of two-part foam and fiberglass. The centerpiece of the new dash is a 10.2-inch Xenarc 1020TSV touchscreen LCD monitor. The touchscreen controls multiple functions including the car-PC, source selection, and AEM engine management system that displays engine vitals.

On both sides of the touchscreen is a pair of Defi gauges that were added to display additional engine parameters. To allow Warnick to keep his eyes on the road when cruising at high speeds, a pair of Plasma Glow digital heads-up displays were added at eye level to the top of the dash that display rpm and mph.

The center console was fabricated to house custom billet temperature controls, an Alpine DVE-5207, the controls for the Belltronics RX75, and a laptop touch pad that controls the Xenarc car-PC.

To maintain high-fidelity listening at high speeds, Warnick selected JL Audio ZR525-CSI components for the front stage. The midrange drivers located in each door are recessed into custom carbon-fiber baffles. Grigio Alloy paint trims each baffle for a refined look. The tweeters are located high up in the door panels to establish an eye level soundstage.

To complement the front stage, Warnick and his team selected a JL Audio 8W3v2 for the system's low end. To maintain spectral balance with the front stage and to save trunk space, Warnick had the JL Audio subwoofer mounted in the passenger foot well. The custom 0.3-cubic-foot sealed enclosure is lightweight and provides enough airspace for a tactile low-end response.

Keeping weight to a minimum, a single JL Audio 450/4 was used for system amplification. The standalone amplifier lays in a sea of carbon fiber, Grigio Alloy painted trim, and Bentley-styled chrome mesh.

Warnick's next-gen NSX is proof that you can create a high-performance show car that actually is capable of demonstrating its performance! The NSX has seen plenty of road time since its completion, traveling to various NSX shows around the state. As soon as the Blue Grass Motorsports parkway is complete, Warnick plans to make use of his membership and run the NSX open track days.