2017 Acura Mdx W/technology Package on 2040-cars

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Acura spotlights NSX pace car at Pikes Peak

You can't just have any old street car setting the pace at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, can you? Of course not. For that task, you'd need a supercar with exceptionally high performance capabilities. Something like the new Acura NSX, for example. Fortunately that's just what the organizers of the annual Race to the Clouds selected to serve as official pace car this year. Honda's new hybrid supercar, set to be built in Ohio, donned a unique livery, a senior PR rep behind the wheel, and a smattering of GoPro cameras to speed up the 14,110-foot mountain. Naturally the twin-turbo V6 engine, nine-speed, dual-clutch transmission, and three-motor Sport Hybrid Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) system formed an integral part of the package as well, even if its output hasn't been officially released more specifically than the "over 550 horsepower" we've been told to expect. The Japanese automaker also placed another couple dozen cameras along the 12.4-mile route and its 156 turns. Which is a good thing, considering that most of us weren't there in Colorado to see it make its run up the mountain, and nobody was there at each corner as it passed – except, of course, for the driver, Sage Marie. The rest of us will want to check out the minute-long clip Acura has released to see the NSX gun for the sky.

2017 Acura NSX First Drive [w/video]

The 2017 Acura NSX is heavy. It outweighs the original 1990 car by more than 800 pounds and is over 300 heavier than a Chevrolet Corvette Z06. The NSX is insanely complicated, with an assist motor between the twin-turbo V6 and the nine-speed dual-clutch transmission, plus two torque-vectoring electric motors at the front axle. And the NSX is expensive. It will probably cost $170,000 when it goes on sale in Spring 2016. Commence trolling. If you hadn't guessed, the new NSX isn't much like the first generation built from 1990 to 2005. But the two cars share a common philosophy. Both are Acura's interpretation of what a modern, everyday supercar should be. Based on the new car, things have changed a lot in the last 25 years. For project leader Ted Klaus, the original NSX was one reason he started working at Honda. At the 1990 Detroit Auto Show, "I sat watching that car for a while. A really long while. Even just looking at that car I could see the deep, advanced, functional beauty." The most difficult thing with the new NSX, says Klaus, is to explain how a heavier and more complicated car can outperform other cars in a way that feels like traditional lightweighting. View 33 Photos This is not the way the NSX was supposed to be at first. The original plan was a transverse-mounted, naturally aspirated engine just like the first car. The NSX has a giant bag of neat tricks, but to understand them takes a lengthy explanation that starts with the Sport Hybrid SH-AWD powertrain. Behind the cockpit is a 75-degree, twin-turbocharged, 3.5-liter V6, made specifically for the NSX. On its own it puts out 500 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque. The rest of Honda's lineup uses a 60-degree layout, but the wider angle here lowers the center of gravity. Behind the engine is the rear assist motor, with 47 hp and 100 lb-ft. Hanging off the rear of that is the nine-speed dual-clutch, developed in-house. In between the front wheels is the Twin Motor Unit (TMU), a pair of 36-hp, 54-lb-ft electric motors that add or subtract forces to their respective sides. The Power Drive unit manages the electronics, and sits in the center spine of the car like a traditional prop shaft. A lithium-ion battery pack is behind the pair of seats, on the cold side of the firewall. Total system output is 573 hp and 476 lb-ft. This is not the way the NSX was supposed to be at first. The original plan was a transverse-mounted, naturally aspirated engine just like the first car.

2016 Acura ILX First Drive [w/video]

Luxury carmakers love getting 'em when they're young. Sure, it takes older, well-heeled buyers to move high-margin flagships like S-Classes, 7 Series, and LSes, but to borrow from the late, great Ms. Houston, the children are the future – specifically, the ones buying entry-level sleds like the Audi A3 and Mercedes-Benz CLA. Since youthful buyers tend to cultivate lifelong patterns of loyalty (and thus, spending), Acura has invested effort in shoving its entry-level ILX into more upmarket territory. "The ILX was originally conceived during the recession," one Acura executive admitted during the launch of the facelifted 2016 model, conceding that the original compact sedan's priorities were biased towards economy, not plushness. Because Acura originally didn't see the $30,000-ish competitors from Audi and Mercedes coming, they didn't think twice about equipping the base, prior-gen ILX with rather uninspired styling and a meager 150-horsepower engine, the combination of which made it more of a glorified Honda Civic than a contender for European power players. What's an aspiring Japanese automaker to do in 2015's golden age of affordable luxury? If you're Acura, you scramble to release a mid-cycle upgrade to elevate the ILX's status. Upmarket Moves: Fresher Skin And A Friskier Soul With its ho-hum sheet metal, the outgoing ILX simply couldn't stand up to its more crisply styled competitors. The 2016 model comes to the rescue by adding Acura's signature "Jewel Eye" row of LED headlights, which joins a reworked grille and fascia to form a more aggressive front end that's been moved lower and wider. A redesigned rear deck incorporates new LED taillamps, while the ILX's proportions now boast a more hunkered-down stance. The look is sexier (especially thanks to those glimmering headlights), though the stodgy, Buick-like character line and rear haunches remain. Inside, a new multimedia and navigation system brings a level of modernity to the cabin, with an eight-inch upper display and seven-inch lower touchscreen gracing Premium and Tech Plus models. A multi-view rear camera is standard on all ILXs, and the Premium gets a seven-speaker sound system while the Tech Plus receives a 10-speaker ELS premium audio setup. Acura's new Navi link feature enables iPhones to display navigation functionality on the car's screen using a $99 cable kit and a $60 app, offering an affordable way to know where you're going. The kit was not available on the models we drove.