Why Acura Designed a Sports Car Concept to Preview the New RDX

Acura pulled the wraps off its Nexera Vision concept sports car yesterday, and shortly after, I sat down with Yasutake Tsuchida, the design mastermind behind the sleek coupe with butterfly doors.

Despite my incessant asking, Tsuchida unfortunately did not budge from the official line that this was just a design exercise, but that also doesn’t mean he didn’t reveal at least a few thoughts on his latest creation for the Acura brand.

When asked why the announcement specifically mentioned the Nexera Vision as the design preview for the upcoming RDX—which is obviously not a sporty coupe—Acura still chose to reveal a sports-car concept rather than a crossover concept?

“As designers, it’s important to show our vision by using this type of sporty car,” Tsuchida told The Drive. “So that’s why we express our vision like this and why we show [these] proportions.”

Tsuchida, who penned the handsome Mazda3 and CX-7 before becoming Acura’s Creative Director and Vice President of Auto Design, reiterated that at the moment this concept is meant simply to show where Acura is headed in terms of exterior and interior language, as well as to highlight some new technologies and materials coming down the production pipeline. These include “phantom lighting” in the exterior and a variety of sustainable materials in the cockpit, such as recycled aluminum, Alcantara, certified post-consumer recycled polyester, and CircuLeather.

When pressed on whether fans of the brand could one day look forward to another sporty coupe in the lineup, Tsuchida said, “Personally, I want the car.” And since Acura did not mention what drivetrain theoretically powered the Nexera Vision concept sports car in its press release, I asked the design executive which engine he would personally want to see in that car.

After a few seconds of silence and a chuckle, Tsuchida simply said: “Something fast.”

Exactly two years ago, The Drive broke the news of an “NSX-type” performance EV coming down the Acura product pipeline. Could this be the design for such a car? Maybe. Will it still be an EV? Highly unlikely.

My gut tells me that this is more than what Acura says it is, but I suppose all I have to do is sit tight and find out.

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