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2013 Acura ILX Hybrid

This Is Not The Acura You're Looking For
Mid-level luxury brands have always had to do a bit of leg work to distance themselves from their more common cousins. Thanks to generation after generation of pervasive badge engineering (much of it from the Big Three), buyers can't be blamed for looking at brands like Buick, Lincoln, Infiniti, Lexus and yes, Acura as tarted up versions of Chevrolet, Ford, Nissan, Toyota and Honda products. For much of its lifetime in the automotive landscape, however, Acura has excelled at putting distance between its offerings and that of its parent company thanks to cars with superior driving dynamics, quieter cabins and clean, attractive aesthetics.
Yes, outliers and dull spots can be found in the company's recent track record, but by and large, Acura products remain situated well above the Honda rabble. When the brand announced it was getting serious about the luxury small car game with the ILX, those of us with a set of the company's keys in our past couldn't help but envision an honest successor to the long-dead Integra. Turns out, that wasn't what Acura had in mind.

2016 Acura NSX: Everything there is to know [w/video]

The road to supercar stardom is littered with missteps. For every slam-dunk like the McLaren F1 and Ferrari F40, there are contenders that never quite reach their full potential – think Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren and Jaguar XJ220. Fear of building a mediocre halo car is why automakers take costly detours like reverse-engineering a carbon fiber chassis when aluminum just won't do (we're looking at you, Lexus LFA), and it's often those second, third, and even fourth major redirects that can make the difference between has-been and hero. History has been kind to the late, great Acura NSX. Though its final years saw it lagging in power, ballooning in price and burdened by unsightly bubble headlamps, the NSX went to pasture in 2005 with a reputation for being an innovative, driver-focused ride that also happened to be practical enough for daily use. Despite its lofty aspirations and attainable price point, fifteen years of production saw just under 9,000 NSXs on the road, which begs the inevitable question: was Acura's mid-engine top dog too tame to be great, yet too ubiquitous to be exotic? Considering how the NSX redux has been worked (and re-worked as a stillborn front-engine V10 GT, only to return to a mid-engine layout), it's safe to say Acura is intent on securing supercar greatness. While the essential spirit of the original NSX program targeted the "New Sports Experimental" idea, Large Project Leader Ted Klaus says that Shigeru Uehara, the man responsible for the original NSX (and Honda S2000, among others) advised the US-based development team that they ought to be "... open-minded to doing things for the emotional benefit of the customer," and not come from a place that was "hyper rational." In other words, build a car that makes the heart skip a beat. View 8 Photos As such, the next-generation NSX has departed from the 2013 concept and assumed a more emotional, expressive design language that hides a more engineering-intensive drivetrain. Gone is the naturally aspirated, transverse-mounted V6, replaced with a longitudinally mounted, turbocharged, dry-sump V6 that produces "north of 550 horsepower," according to Acura brass. As before, the internal combustion mill works with three electric motors to deliver power to all four wheels. Super Handling All-Wheel Drive, indeed – or, as Acura refers to it in this application, Sport Hybrid Super Handling All-Wheel Drive. Why the shift?

Honda trademarks ZSX, could be for baby NSX

While there have been many rumors dating back to 2008 about a mid-engined sports car from Honda, last year's report was provided the most detail about what seemed to be a scaled-down version of the NSX hybrid supercar. Honda may have added some fuel to the rumor-fire by recently filing a trademark application for "ZSX," reports Australia's Performance Drive. The trademark application was sent to the European Union Intellectual Property Office late last month and is obviously close to the NSX nomenclature. The Australian outlet also reports that an unnamed source within Honda claims the ZSX, whatever it may be, could be revealed as early as next year. The anonymous employee also claims that the ZSX will be offered as a coupe and a hard-top convertible variant, with both being powered by the automaker's 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine from the Honda Civic Type R. Just like the NSX, the ZSX is rumored to get electric motors on the front and rear axles. Previous reports match the unnamed source's claims, as the ZSX was expected to be a replacement for the Honda S2000 that ended production in 2009. It now sounds like it'll be more of a mini-NSX, with rumors pointing towards one electric motor powering the rear wheels, while two motors would be on the front axle. Patents from last year, which are pictured above, match the rumors of a mid-engined sports car. The ZSX trademark is for Europe only as of right now, while the automaker's previous patents and trademarks included the US, as well. Only time will tell if "ZSX" really stands for a sports car, or if Honda actually goes through with its plans. Remember, Nissan ditched similar plans for a small rear-wheel-drive sports car recently. Related Video: Featured Gallery Honda ZSX Patent News Source: EUIPO, Performance DriveImage Credit: autovisie Green Acura Honda Coupe Hybrid Performance trademark rumor honda nsx