HENDRICK ACURA - I came across an interesting read in the New York Times today that was posted just a few days ago. I have been working for Hendrick Acura for over a decade now and I will never forget the feeling of first driving the Acura NSX. We had literature of the time and I specifically remember the 1999 Alex Zanardi Edition NSX. I enjoyed this article and was floored by the quote from the writer seeing Zanardi's NSX with flat tires and covered in dust. Enjoy.
In 2001, when I made my visit, Zanardi was living in Monaco in a form of exile. He had parlayed three successful years of racing in America into a ride with the Williams
Formula One team. There was acrimony from the get-go, to the point that Williams
reportedly paid Zanardi millions to terminate his contract. Before my visit, Zanardi had committed to returning to Cart, the open-wheel series in North America that was struggling to retain relevancy. “I don’t have to work again, ever,” I remember him saying in Monaco, pointing to his yacht in the harbor. Appropriately, the vessel was named Hakuna Matata — no worries.
When I parked in the garage of Zanardi’s condo, I noticed a dusty red NSX in the garage, with flat tires. “That’s the one Acura gave me,” he said. “They shipped it over here. It’s been in the garage ever since. I think it has 12 miles on it.”
Zanardi brought out a bicycle pump to put air in the tires just to get the car rolling. The battery was also dead, and we needed to give it a push-start. We visited a nearby gas station for fresh fuel before proceeding to roar around the streets of Monaco, following many of the roads used in the
grand prix, for a good 20 minutes. It was raucous fun while it lasted.
I saw Zanardi later that summer and asked him how many miles the NSX had on it. “The same,” he said. Even then, he preferred to ride a bicycle around Monaco.
A week later, after his horrific crash in Lausitz, Germany, I figured a legless man would probably find even less use for an NSX and its 6-speed manual transmission. But I was wrong. I heard Zanardi had it outfitted with hand controls. He began to put miles on it. Learning to drive with only his hands helped him engineer a ride in touring-car racing, where he was again successful.
For more than a decade, Zanardi has refused to let the loss of his legs at the knees prevent him from living life at the limit. He once climbed, in pain, to the top rung of the starter’s stand
to wave the green flag at a race. He has developed and lent his name to a line of
racing go-karts. He has taken up wheelchair sports with particular passion; he won the handcycling divisions of marathons in Venice, Rome and New York. I wouldn’t blink if I were to spot him on “Dancing With the Stars.”
But the last time I saw him, about 18 months ago in Rome, I forgot to ask about his NSX. Perhaps there will be an opportunity in May. He’s considering
racing at the 2013 Indianapolis 500.
