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Acura builds 345-horsepower RDX A-Spec for SEMA

The 2019 Acura RDX is great — a return to form for the sporty compact luxury crossover. So there's no real harm in giving one the SEMA treatment, especially since it entails a real motorsport tie-in and some legitimate performance parts. As for the giant graphics, well, it's SEMA after all. Graham Rahal races for Honda in the IndyCar series, and he also has his own performance parts company — named, sensibly enough, Graham Rahal Performance — which he started in 2017. They sell some private-label bits manufactured by other companies to their spec, some off-the-shelf parts, and they do tuning and installation work on customer cars. Acura gave the job of building the SEMA RDX to Rahal. There's a fair bit going on under the hood to get the RDX to 345 horsepower from the factory 272 ponies. The 2.0-liter turbo engine gets a bunch of enhancements. The turbo, intake, exhaust manifolds, downpipe, and cat-back (a GRP design) are all aftermarket. There's a customer intercooler, too. KTuning did the ECU with a custom map. On the handling front, the RDX wears Eibach springs, StopTech brakes, HRE wheels at 21 inches, and Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires. The RDX started life as an A-Spec model in Apex Blue Pearl, and from there GRP applied carbon fiber garnish to the mirrors, grille accents, and lower fascia. Troy Lee Designs did the exterior graphics, and inside there's more carbon fiber and a custom steering wheel (courtesy of Max Papis's MPI Innovations shop). The RDX will be on the show floor if you'd like to check out the Rahal shop's handiwork. Related Video:

2016 Honda Pilot, Acura RDX confirmed for Chicago Auto Show debut

The Chicago Auto Show this year is going to be chock-full of Honda crossovers. Not only has Japanese automaker announced that it will be revealing the all-new Pilot at the Windy City expo, but that it will also preview the styling of the next Ridgeline pickup, while its luxury counterpart Acura takes the wraps off the new RDX. Developed and built in America, the new Pilot will be entering its third generation, after the first arrived in 2002 and the second in 2008. The new model previewed in the teaser image above will include eight seats across three rows, "with new technology, advanced safety, class-leading fuel economy and enhanced family utility and versatility," all wrapped in what Honda promises will be a "dramatic shift in design." The arrival of the third-generation model follows the recent introductions of the new CR-V and HR-V that slot below the Pilot. Honda's not saying much about the Ridgeline at this point, but given its close association with the Pilot, it's not surprising to see the automaker grouping the two together. The four-door, short-bed pickup was introduced in 2005 and was discontinued with the end of last year. The second-generation model is expected to reach production in 2016. While it's at it, Honda's luxury division will reveal the new 2016 Acura RDX at the Chicago show. Not to be confused with the Pilot-based MDX, the RDX is the smaller model based on the CR-V and introduced in 2006. The second-gen RDX was just introduced in 2013, but an updated version is already being rolled out, promising to deliver "a long list of styling and performance improvements plus desirable new luxury and safety features" and encompassing "important improvements to performance, dynamics, comfort and NVH." ALL-NEW 2016 HONDA PILOT SUV TO MAKE GLOBAL DEBUT AT 2015 CHICAGO AUTO SHOW Honda to fortify light-truck leadership on Feb. 12 by debuting all-new Pilot three-row SUV, and revealing the styling direction for future Ridgeline pickup Jan 21, 2015 - TORRANCE, Calif. -- A completely reengineered and redesigned Honda Pilot SUV will make its world debut at the 2015 Chicago Auto Show on February 12 at 9:30 a.m. The all-new, eight-passenger Pilot SUV – completely designed, developed and manufactured in America -- will raise the stakes in the mainstream three-row SUV segment with new technology, advanced safety, class-leading fuel economy and enhanced family utility and versatility.

Watch an Acura NSX prototype lap the track at Mid-Ohio

As promised, Acura trotted its NSX prototype out to the mass of waiting fans ahead of today's Honda Indy 200 IndyCar race at Mid-Ohio. The hybrid supercar took to the track for a fast lap, and Acura was kind enough to attach a score of cameras to the car in order to share the event with the rest of the world.
The blue-wrapped NSX looks pretty darn good on a race track, if we do say so ourselves, and its V6 engine, coupled with its three electric motors and lithium-ion battery pack, sounds awfully sweet at full song. The automaker is promising to release its new NSX in 2015, which is still quite a ways away, so we don't expect this exhibition lap to be the last time we see a prototype in action ahead of a production debut.
Want to see the video? Of course you do. Scroll down to see the NSX take to the track like a fish takes to water.