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2015 Acura NSX burns to the ground at the 'Ring [w/video]

Assuming all goes to plan, automakers test their vehicles to the breaking point in the months and years leading up to that vehicle's actual release into the public. Which is good, because it's much better for a car to break in glorious fashion in the hands of the company that produces it than in the driveway of an owner who just spent their hard-earned cash to get it.
Such was the case with this production-guise Acura NSX prototype that we saw running around the Nürburgring just the other day. We can't be 100-percent certain, but the burned-out carcass is wearing the same number plate as the car that was spotted earlier, so it's likely the very same NSX. We have no idea what was the cause of the blaze that turned this Acura into the car-b-q you see pictured above, but our spy shooters on the ground in Germany say it was not involved in any collision, having caught on fire all on its own with engineers behind the wheel.
The good news is that nobody was hurt, though the car is quite clearly a complete loss. We're sure there's another ready to to test in the burned car's place... just as soon as the engineers at Honda figure out exactly what went wrong. Have a look at the smoldering aftermath up above, and feel free to scroll down below to see a video of the car in much better circumstances.

Acura's MDX SEMA concept took the wrong parts from the NSX GT3

When it comes to SEMA show cars, the more absurd the better, such as with the 1,040-horsepower Bisimoto Hyundai Santa Fe. That's not the case with Acura's custom MDX. This crossover was designed to match the NSX GT3 racecar, and gets a custom trailer to tow it. However, instead of doing something awesome like dropping in the NSX's twin-turbo V6, Acura decided the defining characteristics of the race car were the paint, splitter, and wing. So that's what the MDX and trailer got. In addition to a matching white paint scheme with orange and black accents, the SUV wears a massive front splitter that looks like a shelf stuck close to the ground. It's the only aero modification on the vehicle, and it just looks silly, what with the massive gap between the base of the bumper and the splitter itself. There aren't any performance modifications on this SUV either, except the lowered suspension, so the only thing the splitter is likely to do is break off on the first mildly steep driveway it comes across. To complement the MDX's dubious aero aid, the custom trailer gets a "wing" at the back. Actually, it looks like Acura slapped some endplates on the back to give it a wing look. The trailer also gets running boards that extend the splitter along the side. Maybe it all works together to keep the trailering rig planted. But probably not. If Acura wants suggestions for next time, we suggest a mid-engined MDX, or perhaps one with a wild hybrid system. We'll call this a missed opportunity. Related Video: Featured Gallery Acura MDX with custom NSX GT3 Trailer: SEMA 2016 View 11 Photos Related Gallery 2017 Acura MDX SEMA concept Image Credit: Live photos copyright 2016 Drew Phillips / Autoblog Design/Style SEMA Show Acura Crossover Racing Vehicles acura mdx acura nsx gt3

Acura preps ILX for endurance racing challenge

Acura has used the occasion of this year's SEMA show to unveil a 2013 ILX that is remarkably different from the road-going car that we are familiar with. A far distance from the rather mildly performing street car, this ILX Endurance Racer is actually prepped to race at the grueling 25 Hours of Thunderhill in Willows, California.
The ILX racers (Team Honda Research has prepped two of them for the race) have actually each been constructed using two donor ILX sedans: one body-in-white chassis and one full production-spec car that donates powertrain, interior and electronic components. Overall, increasing the performance of the car was done mostly through extensive weight reduction rather than bumps in power. No figures have been given for the output of the ILX's K24Z7 engine, though we are told that a custom intake and exhaust have been fitted, as well as a racing flywheel.
A prominent LED lighting system dominates the front fascia of the ILX, along with a huge front splitter, while a massive wing speaks to the intentions of the car.