Just a day after teasing its latest Precision EV Concept, Acura confirmed the design will reappear in showrooms in 2024 as the Acura ZDX. And a sportier version of the brand’s first all-electric model will be dubbed the ZDX Type S.
The choice of name is a twofold surprise. For one thing, Acura seemed ready to return to its roots with the recent relaunch of the Integra badge. As for ZDX, in particular, it’s not only another meaningless bit of alphabet soup but a name that was previously used for a short-lived and utterly forgettable coupe-like SUV that was introduced back in 2013.
Acura clearly is hoping that bad luck won’t carry over, and it’s betting on a new and more aggressive design language to connect with the growing number of luxury buyers now turning to battery-electric vehicles.
“The Acura ZDX represents the start to what will be an accelerated path toward electrification by the end of the decade and the key role the Acura brand will play in our company’s global goal to achieve carbon neutrality in 2050,” said Emile Korkor, assistant vice president of Acura National Sales. “Acura will remain focused on performance in the electrified era and Type S will continue to represent the pinnacle of this direction.”
Turning to GM for help
An early pioneer of electrification — its quirky two-seat Insight hybrid beating the Toyota Prius to U.S. showrooms — Acura’s parent, Honda, has fallen well behind when it comes to pure electric power. But that’s going to start changing during the next few years.
Shortly after taking the Honda CEO spot early last year, Toshihiro Mibe announced a new, more aggressive vision that will see both the flagship Honda and highline Acura brands go 100% zero-emissions by 2040. (That will include a mix of BEVs and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles.)
To get going, however, the third-largest Japanese automaker turned to General Motors for assistance. Both the ZDX, as well as the upcoming Honda Prologue, will be based on GM’s new Ultium architecture. That’s the same platform used in products like the Cadillac Lyriq and the Chevrolet Blazer EV. Both Prologue and ZDX will launch in 2024.
A unique design
But while the underpinnings — including the lithium-ion battery pack — will come from Detroit, the design of the ZDX is uniquely Acura’s.
We’ll have to wait to see what the final design looks like, but the Acura Precision EV Concept revealed earlier this week offers some insight. It features an unusually long front end for a modern BEV, with a hawk-like nose featuring a backlit, wrap-around sealed grille. That’s framed by slit-like LED lamps.
While it’s also an SUV, the Precision Concept skips the coupe-like roofline that didn’t seem to connect with buyers. Instead, it opts for a flatter “floating” roof that should offer plenty of headroom for both front- and rear-seat passengers. Sweeping creases on the hood flow into the deeply sculpted body panels. And the back end echoes the angular shape of the front end.
“The Acura Precision EV Concept is a look into our future direction and continues Acura’s Precision Crafted Performance design language with a modern expression of performance” Dave Marek, Acura executive creative director, said in a release on the Acura Precision EV Concept which, he said, “will be our North Star as we move into an exciting electrified future, and you will see these design cues translate over to future production models.”
Powertrain options
There are plenty of unknowns when it comes to the two Honda EVs, but we can expect they will mirror similar offerings from the Chevrolet and, perhaps, the Cadillac brands. Prologue will arrive about the same time as the Chevrolet Blazer EV — but it’s unlikely to have all the various powertrain options which including front, rear- and all-wheel-drive variants for the Chevy.
The 2024 Acura ZDX could follow the Caddy Lyriq model, according to industry watchers. It should be able to handle a battery pack with as much as 100 kilowatt-hours of energy — though multiple pack options could be coming. Lyriq’s first incarnation features a single rear-drive electric motor delivering 340 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque.
Acura would all but certainly opt for twin motors, at least with the ZDX Type S. And there it could pick up on the powertrain package planned for the Chevy Blazer SS — its twin motors blasting out 557 horsepower and 684 pound-feet of torque.
Pricing
As for pricing, somewhere in the low-to-mid-$40,000 range is possible for the base Acura ZDX. The Type S would all but certainly push beyond the planned Blazer SS, however, which is expected to come in around $66,000.
Expect the Acura ZDX to go on sale early in the 2024 calendar year. It’s expected to be marketed as a 2024 model.