Monterey Car Week is the kind of automotive pilgrimage where the most passionate aficionados, collectors, and industry insiders gather to celebrate cars in all their glory. Held every August along California’s Monterey Peninsula, it’s more than just a car show — it’s a week-long festival of auctions, rallies, concept debuts, and historic displays, capped off by the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
Among the many showcases, The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, stands out. Known for its carefully curated selection of rare and significant cars, The Quail mixes exclusivity with celebration. Tickets are notoriously hard to come by, and the event is as much about the garden-party atmosphere, champagne, gourmet food, and networking as it is about the machinery.
This year, Acura used the stage to quietly bring back one of its most surprising creations: the NSX Roadster from Marvel’s The Avengers.
A Hollywood Hero Returns
This is no replica or tribute build, it’s the actual screen-used car that Tony Stark piloted in the highest-grossing film of 2012. Hidden away for more than a decade, the NSX Roadster resurfaced at The Quail as part of Acura’s celebration of the original NSX’s 35th anniversary.
Designed at Acura’s Los Angeles studio under then-Creative Director Dave Marek, the car borrows its futuristic style from the second-gen NSX Concept but sits on a first-gen chassis. The team at Trans FX in Oxnard built the hand-crafted resin-and-fiberglass body, dropped the suspension by two inches, added 18-inch wheels, and installed aftermarket seats. Its foundation was a well-used 1991 NSX with over 252,000 miles, proving once again the NSX’s bulletproof reliability. Fans of the film will recognize its now-iconic “Stark 33” license plate.
Step inside and the story gets even better. The first-gen Acura interior is still there, and it looks surprisingly at home beneath the sleek, more modern bodywork. The clean lines, simple driver-focused layout, and low-slung cockpit remind you just how ahead of its time the original NSX really was and why its design feels timeless more than three decades later.
What’s Next for the Supercar
Acura confirmed the Roadster will head to auction in 2026, with proceeds going to charity. Collectors were invited to Car Week to register their interest, and given its provenance as both a one-off Acura concept and Marvel movie car, expect a strong spotlight when the bidding begins.
Acura in the Spotlight
The Roadster wasn’t Acura’s only attraction. The brand also displayed a 1995 NSX-R, a 1999 Zanardi Edition, and the RSX Prototype, which previews Acura’s next-generation all-electric premium performance SUV. Still, even with legends on hand, the Roadster stood out as a piece of both automotive and cinematic history.
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