JDM imports

How do you import a Honda NSX to the UK?

A first-generation Honda NSX built more than 30 years ago (from 1990 to 1996, depending on the exact build date) can come into the UK at 0% duty and 5% import VAT as a collector’s vehicle, as long as it is in its original state: the model has been out of production since 2005. A younger or modified NSX pays 20% VAT, with 0% duty if you prove it was made in Japan, otherwise 10%.

Published 29 September 2026 · 5 min read

Buying an NSX abroad? Get a free quote to import your Honda NSX →

1. Where and when was the Honda NSX built?

Honda put the NSX on sale in Japan in September 1990, and built it at a plant in Tochigi completed that May for the car alone. It was the first mass-production car with an all-aluminium monocoque body, and a Type R version followed in 1992 (Honda heritage). In July 2005 Honda announced the end of production: at the end of September 2005 for Europe and the end of December 2005 for North America, after more than 18,000 cars in 15 years (Honda press release).

The cars sold in North America as the Acura NSX came from the same Japanese plant (Acura 1991 press kit). So an NSX found in the USA is still a Japanese-built car, and that matters for the duty: the rate depends on where a car was built, not where you buy it.

2. Which NSXs get the collector’s rate?

The collector’s rate under heading 9705 has three conditions: at least 30 years old, in its original state, and a model no longer in production. The tariff note allows repairs, restoration and replacement of worn-out parts, as long as the car is kept historically correct, but it excludes modernised or modified vehicles. So an early NSX with a replacement engine of a different type or a reworked suspension can lose the 5% rate, even though it is old enough.

For a car that does not qualify, the standard duty on a used car is 10%, and the UK tariff shows 0% for cars of Japanese origin. The lower rate is not automatic: you need proof that the car originates in Japan (GOV.UK, proof of origin).

3. What changes on a Japanese-market NSX?

Many NSXs for sale abroad are Japanese-market cars. Owners on the NSX Prime forum list the visible differences from a UK car: a small Japanese number plate recess, an odometer in kilometres, a different rear light layout and no fog lights (NSX Prime). They also say Japanese cars sell for less in the UK, partly because their history can be harder to verify.

Two UK rules are worth checking before the car is booked in:

• Speedometer: a car first used from 1 April 1984 must have a speedometer that can show both miles per hour and kilometres per hour (regulation 35 of the Construction and Use Regulations).
• Rear fog lamp: the MOT checks for one rear fog lamp, fitted in the centre or on the offside, on cars first used from 1 April 1980 (MOT inspection manual, section 4.5).

These are jobs for a garage before the MOT. The customs declaration, NOVA and the DVLA forms are ours.

4. Buying in Japan: which papers do you need?

A car leaving Japan has an export certificate (the certificate of registration deletion), which dates the car for the DVLA. Japan Customs says it is valid for six months from the date of issue (Japan Customs), so the car should ship well within that time. Keep the invoice as well: it is the proof of what you paid.

Once the car lands, HMRC must be told through NOVA within 14 days of bringing it in, and a customs agent can do it for you (GOV.UK). Because every first-generation NSX was first registered or built more than 10 years ago, it does not need vehicle approval (GOV.UK). It then needs an MOT and the DVLA registration: we prepare every DVLA form, you just sign and post.