Acura to Unveil New Vehicles at Pebble Beach
Is Honda's luxury group finally getting back to the 'Performance' in their slogan for those that can't afford the NSX? We may be about to find out.
Car and Driver reports that Acura may be planning to unveil a new production ready vehicle at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in August based on the Precision concept which was first shown to the public in 2016. Not only that but also a new iteration of the TLX sedan, the MDX crossover, and possibly even a ZDX crossover, which had a very brief run before production was ceased in 2013.
2010 ZDX, based on the Honda Crosstour. Credit: Wikipedia
For the Acura fans and fans of their Type-S line, 2019 and 2020 may also see the debut of the TLX Type-S model. It's predecessor the TL Type-S was also a four door sedan whose ride, engine, and performance were beefed up considerably compared to the standard TL and is considered by many as the best looking and best performing Acura ever made. Speculation includes that the TLX Type-S would have a detuned single turbo engine from the new NSX supercars with horsepower pushing into the 360+ range. Test pictures found on Autoblog show it running with Audi A4s and Mercedes AMG C43.
TL Type-S. I mean just look at that.
Source: JB Car Pages. Engine on the Type-S was uptuned to about 286 horsepower compared to 258 on a standard TL. It also had added performance features like a 6 speed manual, firmer suspension, Brembo brakes, and exterior cosmetic changes
While all this makes an Acura fan like me cautiously optimistic I think the last paragraph in Car and Driver's article is the most important. "Execs admit frustration over Acura's second-class treatment by Honda, which lately has reserved the newest innovations (like the Accord's 10-speed automatic transmission and infotainment, or the Civic Type R's turbo four) when the luxury division, by all logic, should be leading."
If Acura's engineers are allowed access to the latest from Honda R&D and given more latitude on their designs, we could possibly be seeing the renewal of those business practices which made Acura so successful upon their debut in the 90's. While their handling package SH-AWD gives a nice punch to the higher trim packages of many models, a lot of what Acura offers in the past few generations of vehicles seems a bit behind their competitors. Hopefully this is a step in the right direction.
Join In
Comments (1)
Acura, are you listening?! This is the direction if want to keep your company alive. Bold change