Acura reveals RSX EV prototype, due on sale next year as brand's second electric model.
The sporty 2027 EV will be positioned below the larger, Ultium-based ZDX, and follows up on the Acura Performance EV Concept in Monterey a year ago.
As a dual-motor, fastback EV, performance will be key this time around, with the RSX focused on a different driving experience from the Honda Prologue's twin.
Monterey Car Week once again provides an important stage for concept car reveals as several automakers take the wraps off the fantastically or at times very practically styled machines.
The 2025 Acura RSX concept revealed in Monterey this week leans heavier toward the latter category, taking on the shape of a performance crossover that quite explicitly previews an electric Acura model due in the second half of 2026. (Squint hard enough and you might see a familiar EV crossovers or two).
So Acura is not playing a teasing game of any sort: This is a preview of a production model you're going to see a year from now, and it will be based on a platform developed in-house, rather than using the Ultium platform that Acura and Honda borrowed for their first mass-market EV SUVs from General Motors.
The RSX concept actually follows a more distant preview of the same model in the form of the Acura Performance EV Concept at Monterey a year ago.
"The Acura RSX has a sporty coupe style that expresses the performance that comes from excellent aerodynamics," said Yasutake Tsuchida, Acura Creative Director and vice president of American Honda R&D.
"Starting from this all-new RSX we will redefine the Acura brand around timeless beauty and a high-tech feel that is essential for a performance and unique brand."
Still Showing an Aggressive Profile
The 2025 RSX prototype smooths out some of the sharper edges of that 2024 concept, taking a step closer toward a production vehicle.
But some of the basic, aggressive profile is still there, including a fastback profile and a relatively long wheelbase, even though the model itself is believed to be sized below the MDX.
So it will resemble more of a sporty coupe with details like flared wheel wells adding some character, rather than taking on the role of a long-wheelbase three-row school run shuttle.
Of course, it's too early to talk about battery sizes and range, as this is more of a halfway step to a production version more than anything else.
A bump in output over the standard 358 hp in the ZDX seems assured as well, as this will be a dual-motor fastback.
It remains to be seen just how much of this sporty aesthetic and proportions will survive the transition from concept to production.
Ohio Assembly Shared With Integra
It certainly helps that Acura already has the ZDX, so the RSX does not need to hit the same interior space targets at all.
But production itself is not far off.
Acura says the RSX will be assembled at the Honda EV Hub flexible manufacturing facility in Ohio, and built on the same line that currently produces the Integra.
What isn't visible on the outside is ASIMO OS, which is a new global operating system that takes its name from Honda's longtime humanoid robot, and that will learn the driving behavior and preferences of the vehicle's owner to offer a more personal approach.
"The dramatic styling of our Acura RSX Prototype demonstrates that it's not just a new EV, but a compelling all-new Acura model," said Lance Woelfer, vice president of Auto Sales at American Honda Motor Co.
"RSX will deliver on nearly four decades of Acura Precision Crafted Performance brand DNA with appealing design and cutting-edge technology."
The RSX should also refocus the brand on performance, which had lately taken a secondary role to luxury in some relatively recent offerings.
Should Acura offer an electric sedan next, or are sedans too overpopulated as an EV segment? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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