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Acura Unveils RSX Prototype At Monterey Car Week
Acura is back at Monterey Car Week and as it has several times in recent years it's using the opportunity to show the world where it's going with its next-generation of vehicles. This started in 2022 with the Precision EV concept which previewed the design direction of its first electric vehicle, the ZDX a year later. 2024 brought us the Performance EV concept and now this week we have our first real look at the new RSX prototype.
Honda and Acura have a pattern of showing multiple stages of concepts, those that we would more traditionally think of as design concepts and what they like to call prototypes. The concepts are a bit more out there and the public prototypes are for all intents and purposes the production models, sometimes shown without mirrors or with camera mirrors and other slight detail changes. But when they call it a prototype, it's basically what you'll be able to buy within six to 12 months.
Such is the case with this week's RSX prototype. Earlier this year, Acura released a teaser rear three-quarter image of the RSX in a camouflage wrap, but we can now see the whole thing. Like last year's concept, this is a so-called SUV coupe, meaning it's a crossover with a fastback roofline.
Acura has recently begun reviving old, unused nameplates, starting with the Integra. Since the original Integras of the 1990s were derivatives of the Civic, it made perfect sense to bring back that name on a reworked Civic hatchback. When the fourth-generation Integra arrived in 2001, Acura was well into using alphabetic names exclusively and the model was rebranded as RSX. Acura's first EV, a midsize GM-built crossover wagon launched in 2024 with the name ZDX which had originally been used on an early 2010s crossover coupe. Now we have the new RSX which is nothing like an Integra and this is the vehicle that probably should have been called ZDX.
Peculiar naming choices aside, most of the themes we saw last year on the Performance EV concept have been brought forward to production with the usual updates. The concept had a more minimalist greenhouse which looks cool in the design workshop, but would severely limit passenger space. The 'prototype' makes that volume substantially larger while maintaining a similarly sleek profile.
The sharply angled side vents also carry over but again, are slightly reduced in scope, no longer extending into the front fenders. The belt-line sweeps up at the rear fenders and the body color wraps over to meet the black roof. There are now of course door handles, but as with many EVs, they retract flush into the surrounding door panels. The rear light bar of the prototype is very similar to the concept and the vertical corner vents are actually even a bit taller than before.
The front fascia theme is brought to production mostly intact from the concept apart from having a bit less of a forward leaning shark nose effect. The prototype is a bit more vertical. We haven't yet seen an interior for either the concept or the prototype so that will remain a mystery for a few more weeks or months.
The RSX is the first production model built on Honda's new in-house developed EV platform. The platform will be shared with Honda's 0 series models coming in 2026 including the SUV and Saloon and all will be built at the company's Marysville, Ohio assembly plant along with the Honda Accord. While the platform isn't being used for the Afeela 1 EV from the Sony Honda Mobility joint venture, many of the components including the motors and batteries are shared. The Afeela 1 is being built at another nearby Honda plant in East Liberty, Ohio. The cast aluminum battery cases are being produced at Honda's Anna, Ohio engine plant and the cells will come from a Honda-LG Energy Solution joint venture in Jeffersonville, Ohio. Together these four facilities comprise Honda's EV hub in Ohio.
The Honda and Acura branded cars use a new zonal electrical/electronic architecture that centralizes much of the compute capability along with a Honda developed software platform called Asimo OS. This makes these EVs, Honda's first software defined vehicles and they will support full over-the-air updates for all systems. Among the features planned to be included in some or all of these models is a so-called level 3 driver assist system that allows the driver to hands-off and eyes-off under certain operating conditions. While drivers won't be able to take a nap, they will be able to read or watch a video when the system is operational.
Production of the RSX is due to begin late in the fourth quarter this year with vehicles hitting dealers in early 2026. A full production debut should happen before the end of the year, perhaps at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November with performance and pricing available closer to launch.
