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2019 Acura NSX gets a refresh and an eye-catching new color

After two model years and about 1,000 deliveries to the U.S., Acura's given the 2019 model a few enhancements and a small price bump. The car debuted at The Quail, A Motorsport Gathering, during the festivities surrounding Pebble Beach. While there are no major powertrain changes, some new color options and a few chassis refinements will be appreciated by NSX fans. Let's start with the hardware, since this is a sports car, after all. Most important, there's new all-season rubber, still Continental SportContacts but the next version thereof — the 6. Acura claims better handling in all conditions, and the way tire technology has been improving, we'd believe it. The optional Pirelli Trofeo Rs remain — and remain highly recommended for anyone looking to sample the NSX on track, which is an exhilarating experience. Acura says the rest of the enhancements we'll mention shaved a full two seconds off the car's time at Suzuka, so take that for what it's worth. They consist of a 26 percent stiffer front sway bar and 19 percent stiffer rear bar; 21 percent stiffer rear toe link bushings; a 6 percent stiffer rear hub; and a new software calibration for the computer controlled bits: the SH-AWD system, magnetorheological dampers, electric power steering, and stability control systems. For a car as precisely engineered as the NSX, these are relatively significant improvements. Don't necessarily expect it to shave two seconds off your personal best lap time, but if you're highly attuned to the chassis dynamics, the '19 NSX should offer more precise and direct feedback to the driver. No need to be precisely attuned to the cosmetic changes — they're pretty obvious. Thermal Orange, a new exterior color, and the chrome beak-ectomy (it's not body colored) crown the exterior changes. Inside, the leather/Alcantara combo seats are now available in blue, and the full leather seats can be had in red. While the price for the 2019 model has gone up by $1,500, Acura says that there's now $4,700 in formerly optional equipment (power seats, satnav, premium audio, parking sensors, and sport pedals) included as standard equipment. That sounds like a good deal to us. If you want one, the order books are open and cars will be delivered starting in October. Related Video:

2019 Acura RDX First Drive Review | Boringness banished

WHISTLER, B.C. — Things have come full circle for the Acura RDX. The compact crossover launched in 2007 with an all-new turbocharged four-cylinder engine and an all-wheel-drive system that was sophisticated enough for the brand to affix the Super Handling designation to it. It was a fun, sporty vehicle in a sea of boring competitors, and we liked it enough to write a eulogy of sorts when the second-generation RDX ditched the fun turbo engine in favor of a V6, and dumbed down its optional all-wheel system so much that they dropped the Super Handling name. Acura's mainstreaming of the RDX for its second generation turned out to be a smart play. Sales jumped 94 percent in 2012, the first year that the redesigned RDX went on sale, leapt another 50 percent the following year, and have stayed over the 50,000 mark for the past three years. It may sound surprising, then, that Acura is flipping the playbook back a few pages by swapping its V6 engine back to a turbo four and reinstalling Super Handling All-Wheel Drive. We think it's a smart move. The 2019 RDX is both sportier and more upscale than the model it replaces. It does more than just check boxes. It's interesting, boasts some cool technology, and offers a strong value proposition. The 2019 RDX's all-new 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine delivers 272 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque. That's down a negligible seven ponies from the old 3.5-liter V6, but up 28 lb-ft, and it's tuned to provide the bulk of that torque in the heart of its powerband — peak torque plateaus between 1,600 and 4,500 rpm. An equally all-new 10-speed automatic transmission sends that power to either the front wheels, or, as was the case with the vehicles we tested, all four wheels. Jumping into a 2019 RDX for the first time, our main powertrain concern was that the 10-speed automatic would generate a ton of unnecessary, and distracting, shifts. This proved to be an unfounded fear. The gearbox does shift quite often under hard acceleration, but does so quickly and without any undue jerkiness. The sheer number of gearing options — the old six-speed auto had a 68 percent narrower spread of ratios — and the torque-rich engine combined to provide excellent straight-line acceleration in any real-world driving scenario we could conjure. The rest of the time we didn't really think about the transmission at all. We did, however, lament the push-button transmission interface.

Honda sending two NSX racers and new EV concept to Pikes Peak

Honda is always good for a few interesting Pikes Peak entries. In 2015, Acura supplied a 2017 NSX prototype for pace-car duty. This time around, two NSXes will compete alongside a reconfigured version of the company's four-motor electric racecar. Those aren't the 2016 entries above. The one on the right is last year's pace car and the one on the left is a first-gen NSX that did the hillclimb the past few years. The 2016 cars haven't been unveiled yet, but we know that one will be in the Time Attack 2 Production class, which is mostly stock with the addition of items like a roll cage, and the other will be in Time Attack 1. TA 1 allows modifications to the powertrain, additional aero aids, suspension changes, and other tweaks, so expect to see a lot more power and a big wing on the back. The cars will be driven by James and Nick Robinson, brothers who work for Honda R&D in Ohio. Honda will use a version of the four-motor electric powertrain from its 2015 CR-Z Exhibition class entry in a new EV. (We got to drive a non-race tune of this setup in Japan last year.) The 2016 version, which will wear a different body, moves to the Electric - Electric Modified class of last year's frontrunners. We're told this car is aiming for an overall win at the 2016 race; the CR-Z took 11th place overall in 2015. The EV will again be driven by Tetsuya Yamano, a Japanese Super GT driver. Oh, and there will of course be a factory entry or two from Honda's Powersports division. Honda engineer Keith Steidl will ride a 2015 TRX1000 ATV in the Pikes Peak Challenge - Exhibition Powersport class. In the past, Honda has fielded plenty of other neat stuff in the Race to the Clouds. In 2012, it ran an NSX fitted with a twin-turbo V6 from an LMP2 car, and the 2013 race saw the very practical 532-horsepower turbocharged Odyssey minivan join the Exhibition class. The 2016 race marks the Pikes Peak hillclimb's 100th anniversary (but not the 101st running since competition took some breaks back in wartime). We're looking forward to June already. Related Video: Image Credit: Honda Green Motorsports Acura Honda Electric Hybrid Racing Vehicles pikes peak exclusive