Acura Debuts Performance Electric Vision Design Concept
While Acura recently unveiled its first production EV, the 2024 ZDX crossover, during Monterey Car Week, the model didn’t quite reach the ridiculous levels of extravagance the event is known for. Fortunately, the company had something in its back pocket with the “Performance Electric Vision Design” concept it teased in tandem with the all-electric ZDX.
It’s not a production vehicle and may not even qualify as a prototype for some model Acura has yet to deliver. But that’s not going to stop people from wondering if it’s going to be the next NSX as manufacturers continue to hype all-electric performance. Let’s face it, were Acura to build something that looked as aggressive as the Performance Electric Vision Design, it would be insane for the brand not to leverage the iconic NSX name.
For now, all the manufacturer is willing to do is call it a design concept for its “electrified future.” But it looks like a Le Mans Prototype (LMP) racer and may foreshadow Acura’s participation in all-electric motorsport. Though that’s a relatively big leap to take from what’s effectively just some shadow-obscured bodywork.
The Electric Vision was created by the Acura Design Studio in Los Angeles (like the ZDX) and debuted at Monterey Car Week as an “electrifying design study with thrilling performance proportions; powerfully sculpted, contrast surfacing; and striking neon green lighting signature further explores the future evolution of Precision Crafted Performance design language as the performance brand transitions to a zero-emissions future.”
"Our Acura design team in Los Angeles is dreaming up the future of Acura Precision Crafted Performance in the EV era," said Dave Marek, Acura executive creative director. "This latest expression of an all-electric high-performance model is inspiring everyone in our studio to push the boundaries and we wanted to share the fun with our Acura fans."
Unfortunately, it’s a little hard to get super excited about the concept when it’s presumably just a shell the company hasn’t even bothered to provide with the proper lighting. We can see the overall shape of the Performance Electric Vision Design but the details are absent, save for its aggressive (and color-changing) exterior illumination.
It may look like an LMP racer. But it feels like Acura’s attempt to remind the world that it hasn’t forgotten about EVs after the electrified ZDX debuted riding on a General Motors platform. Though parent-company Honda has been working on battery electric models and has set a goal to have all its models around the world be either electric or hydrogen fuel cell by 2040.
Though the execution has been akin to what we’ve seen from Toyota. Both automakers have released some mainstream electric crossovers with staggeringly awful names. Toyota now offers the bZ4X, while Honda has released the e:Ny1. But the two companies are clearly prioritizing small, gasoline-electric hybridization as their best defense against government regulators and neither seems interested in ruling how hydrogen power due to how strongly its been incentivized by the Japanese government
Exactly how Honda’s decisions will influence Acura is anyone’s guess. These are uncertain times and it's difficult to predict how things might play out. But we’re dubious about the brand’s next EV being something based directly on the Performance Electric Vision Design. Until the company says otherwise, it’s just automotive eye candy.
[Images: Acura]
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A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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