The red NSX roadster that Tony Stark drives at the end of The Avengers is up for auction, and under the movie body there’s a 1991 first-generation NSX with about 252,200 miles on it. Acura is selling the car on Cars & Bids, and the winning bid goes to charity.
Acura announced the sale on 26 October. Bidding closes at the Las Vegas Concours on Saturday 31 October at 2:00 PM PDT. The top bid was already about $98,000 on 25 and 26 October.
Quick facts
- Car: the one-off Acura NSX Roadster from Marvel’s The Avengers (2012)
- Base car: a 1991 Acura NSX with about 252,200 miles (405,900 km)
- Engine: 3.0-litre DOHC VTEC V6, about 270 hp when new
- Gearbox: five-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
- Body: hand-made resin and fibreglass, no roof, Hot Rod Red paint
- Wheels: 18-inch at the front, 20-inch at the rear
- Auction: Cars & Bids, ends 31 October 2026, 2:00 PM PDT
- Top bid: about $98,000 on 25 and 26 October
- Road use: none, it can’t be titled or registered
A 2012 concept look on a 1991 car
Acura’s design studio in Los Angeles drew the roadster for the film. The Drive reports that the team was led by Dave Marek, who was Acura’s creative director then. Trans FX, a shop in Oxnard, California, built it.
The shape copies the NSX Concept that Acura first showed at the Detroit motor show in January 2012. Photo 1 in our gallery shows that concept in New York a few months later, and photo 2 shows it in Detroit. The concept was the first look at the second-generation NSX.
The movie car only borrows the look. Under the resin and fibreglass is a 1991 NSX, and it still has its original 3.0-litre V6 and five-speed manual. Photos 3 and 4 show a standard 1991 car, so you can see where it started.
The cabin comes from the old car too, with aftermarket bucket seats. The suspension is lowered, and the car still wears the “STARK 33” licence plate from the film.
About two seconds on screen
For all that work, the roadster is in the film for a moment. The Drive counted about two seconds, near the end, when the heroes drive off after beating Loki. Robert Downey Jr. also drove it at the film’s premiere in Los Angeles.
Acura kept the car after filming and never restored it, so it looks the way it did on screen in 2012.
The catch: it can’t go on the road
The listing calls it a “non-registerable manufacturer prototype”. It can’t be titled or registered, so you can’t legally drive it on public roads. It is a display car.
The listing is honest about its age, too. It mentions small scratches on the bumpers, A-pillars and doors, cracks in the paint on the C-pillars and scuffs in the cabin, and it says the custom body is fragile.
The buyer also gets one key, two key fobs, a certificate of authenticity and a signed photo of Acura’s creative director with the car.
Where the money goes
Acura says the money goes to a charity the winning bidder picks. On top of that, Acura will give its own donation to the Sundance Institute, which supports independent artists. Acura hasn’t said how big that donation is.
Earlier in October we wrote about the last GR Supra MkV going to auction for Paul Walker’s charity.
What it means for NSX fans
The real second-generation NSX went on sale in 2016. It was a hybrid with a 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 and three electric motors, and production ended in 2022.
The movie car has none of that. It runs the naturally aspirated V6 from the first NSX, with three pedals. So this roadster is really an NA1 in a costume, and for a lot of fans that’s the best part of the story.
Our take
This is our opinion. We like that a real NA1 with a manual gearbox sits under the movie body, and 252,000 miles on a 1991 NSX says a lot about how well Honda built these cars. Sending the winning bid to charity is the right way to sell something like this.
The bad side is simple. Whoever buys it can never drive it on the road, and the fragile body means it will mostly sit in a garage or a museum. If you want an NSX to enjoy on weekends, a normal one is the better buy.
Your turn
How much do you think Tony Stark’s NSX will sell for when bidding closes on 31 October? Tell us in the comments.
Sources: Acura (official release, 26 Oct 2026), Motor1 (27 Oct 2026), Carscoops (26 Oct 2026), Gray News via KY3 (25 Oct 2026), autoevolution (21 Oct 2026), Supercars.net, The Drive (13 Aug 2025), Cars & Bids listing.
Photos: IFCAR (photo 1, public domain), Autoviva (photo 2, CC BY 2.0) and Mr.choppers (photos 3 and 4, CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons. Photo 1 shows the Acura NSX Concept at the 2012 New York show, photo 2 the same concept at the 2012 Detroit show, photos 3 and 4 standard 1991 Acura NSX cars. None of them shows the Avengers roadster itself; Acura’s official photo of it is in the Acura release linked above.
