Acura Goes Bold With Advanced Sports Car Concept for Detroit
Acura has just announced that it will be bringing a brand new concept car to the North American InternationalAuto Show, and it’s definitely going to have people talking. The Advanced Sports Coupe Concept is the next vehicle to sport the daring new design language that debuted last month at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
Like the Advanced Sedan Concept, the forthcoming coupe has nautical inspired lines that include a pointed boat-tail and very angular bodywork. Where the sedan was inspired by luxury yachts, we could understand the sports car being inspired by a sleek speed boat.
Since the HSC concept was shown in 2002, insiders have been expectingHonda to pull out the stops on a second concept, or even a prototype version of a brand new supercar, yet to this day nothing has happened. The new concept could be Acura’s next step in creating a new sports car, but without seeing more pictures of the Advanced Sports Coupe it’s hard to tell exactly what kind of drivetrain it will incorporate.
Where the NSX was a mid-engined, rear wheel drive vehicle, the sketch hints that the Advanced Sports Coupe is front-engined, although it could be a mid-engine vehicle. Whatever the case, the car has quite a legend to live up to if it is to become the next-generation NSX. After all, Honda’s president Takeo Fukui said, back in 2005 that, "We would like to debut a new super-sports car equipped with a V10 engine in three to four years." There’s no time like the present...
Meanwhile, Acura’s parent company Honda will be showing a concept of its own in Detroit, though it looks to be far less radical and experimental than the Acura. The Accord Coupe Concept will be the vehicle to preview the next generation of North American-bound Accord that’s set to arrive sometime next year. It marks the first time that any generation of Accord concept vehicle makes a debut in North America. Honda chose to introduce the world to the Coupe first as opposed to the sedan as this segment is growing in popularity from the likes of the Pontiac G6 Coupe, Mitsubishi Eclipse, Toyota Solara and Nissan’s brand new Altima Coupe.
From the lone sketch that Honda provided, the concept car shows a tail end that is much more European in its styling. The rear decklid is more upright, and the taillights give off a hint of the previous generation Audi A4. It’s edgier than the previous Accord too, with a narrowing cabin towards the rear of the car, widened fenders and quad tail pipes. Surely the production car won’t have the concept’s outrageous proportions, but it bodes well for what’s heading for the road.