The front air dam, bumper and hoodline have been revised, reducing the coefficient of drag to a superslick 0.30. The side sills are smoother, and new mesh air intakes just forward of the rear wheels provide additional cooling of the transverse-mounted engine located just behind the seats. The rear bumper, spoiler and LED taillamps have also been tweaked a bit. Finally there are new alloy wheels, sharp seven-spokes painted a smooth silver.

None of these changes affect the silhouette of the car, which still makes the NSX look like it belongs on the track at Le Mans. The tail remains markedly huge; not exactly fat, just way out there. And it's a magnet for dust and spray; after any light drizzle, the rear end conspicuously needs washing.

The 12-year-old styling is dated but still spectacular; our yellow NSX got more stares and reactions along the Columbia River than any car we've driven since the PT Cruiser was new. (We got the same reaction driving an Imola Orange NSX in Richmond, Virginia.) The exclusive NSX is still unknown and therefore striking to people.

The removable aluminum roof panel, introduced in '95, is standard equipment this year. It clips out easily and is light enough for one person to handle. It's ingeniously stowed under a solid flap inside the hatched rear window, thus taking up no storage space.

Which is good, because there's very little. The trunk, behind the engine in the tail, is a surprisingly decent 5.0 cubic feet, but that's it. The nose of the NSX is used for locating the larger components, such as the battery, reservoirs, electric power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering and the space-saving spare tire. There's no room at all behind the seats, nor any useful compartments in the console. The glovebox is mostly filled by the manual, but it could go in the trunk.

The high cost of the NSX can be tied mostly to its technology and construction by hand. The expression "similar to that of a Formula One car" appears repeatedly in the press materials. The all-aluminum chassis has been designed by the best computer programs for rigidity and safety, and the largely aluminum double-wishbone independent suspension is state of the art. Only one pair of human hands touches the engine, which features everything from titanium connecting rods (unique in a road car) to a Direct Ignition system in which each spark plug gets its own coil. Everywhere you turn, there's an expensive design.

There's also impressive attention to detail. Fit and finish is of the highest priority, reflected in the fact that our test car, despite having more than 10,000 hard miles, was tight and rattle-free.