Acura Concept Teases U.S. Electric SUV Scheduled for 2025
Acura unveiled a performance EV concept Thursday at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, one of the premier events of the 2024 Monterey Car Week in California.
The concept is a sleek four-door GT riding on raised suspension and previews a production model that will be available in 2025. Acura Creative Director Dave Marek said many design elements of the concept will be followed in future showroom vehicles.
One can imagine a new front end without a grille will carry over. Acura said the design was inspired by modern hydrofoil superyachts. Other key features include a long wheelbase and muscular wheel arches, which house 23-inch wheels wrapped in 295-millimeter-wide performance rubber. The wheels house cross-drilled brakes with white calipers.
The concept's technology will be shared with future showroom vehicles. The concept is based on a new EV-specific platform developed in-house by Acura's parent company, Honda, which will be used by Honda in a variety of EVs, including the “0 (zero) series” family of EVs unveiled at CES in January 2024. The platform is also expected to be used in a new EV brand, Afila, established by Honda and Sony.
The platform is unrelated to General Motors' Ultium EV platform and battery technology used in Acura's debut EV, the 2024 ZDX. It is flexible enough to support vehicles in a variety of segments, but the first vehicles will be in the “midsize to large” segment.
Acura has not released platform specifications, but Honda has previously stated that vehicles on the new platform are targeted to have a range of over 300 miles. Honda has also stated that the platform will use internally developed software for the operating system and infotainment.
The showroom-bound vehicle, based on Acura's Performance EV concept, will go into production in late 2025 and will appear as a 2026 model in the US. The plant is being renovated to manufacture EVs and their components, including batteries, which Honda now calls the Honda EV Hub.