Next year, the Acura RSX will return—not as a sports coupe, but as an electric crossover with a coupe-esque roofline. It’s the latest revival of a once-beloved nameplate that has gotten enthusiasts talking. But it’s coming all the same, and the prototype seen here making its public debut at Monterey Car Week this weekend is likely to be very close to the final product.
Putting aside the legacy of the name for a second, this RSX represents a few other things for Acura, and the American Honda group at large. Unlike the Ultium-based Prologue and ZDX, it’s Honda’s first EV sold in North America built on a platform all its own. It’ll be made at the Marysville, Ohio “EV Hub,” alongside the Integra; incorporate a NACS charging port from day one; and offer our first taste of the new Asimo OS software that’ll power both brands’ EVs going forward. In the RDX, we’re finally seeing what a modern, mass-market, authentically Honda EV looks like, in the States. That makes it a big deal.
But, to the readers and editors of The Drive, it’s tough to overlook the nostalgia of a modern classic. Acura says that its choice of the RSX name isn’t meant to convey that it considers this EV a successor to that coupe. Perhaps “RSX” just sounded good to them, or there’s still some market caché in it. Regardless, the association is a little tough to take when you survey the vehicle that’ll be wearing the badge next year.
The new RSX does have a sloping silhouette, with a black roof and cinched side sills to try and reduce some of its visual mass. But this is a tall and thick car, especially with that chunky beak at the front. The ride height doesn’t help, and frankly, all I’m getting from those daytime running LEDs is Buick Envista. A very competent commuter, no doubt, but not exactly what springs to mind when you think “precision-crafted performance.” Acura says the full-width taillights are intended to call the NSX to attention; unfortunately, these days it shares more in common with every other new car on the road, since they all seem to have lightbars now.
This RSX should still be quick, though, with dual-motor all-wheel drive, double-wishbone front suspension, and Brembo brakes all around. Acura hasn’t spoken about power figures or performance metrics yet, but it’s a modern EV, so it should be sprightly enough and faster than the old RSX in raw terms. The company says it can also store energy and provide backup power to a home, which is something many automakers talk about but really only Ford has embraced thus far with the F-150 Lightning.
That’s the 2027 Acura RSX, then—at least from the outside. We’re not getting any look at the interior as part of this Monterey blitz, and it can be assumed that some of this show car’s less realistic characteristics, like its use of cameras instead of side mirrors, won’t make it to dealers. But Acura took a similar tactic with the Integra’s debut, showing off a “prototype” that was also yellow and had blacked-out windows, ahead of a production car that ended up looking essentially identical. The Integra was also met with a polarizing reception, at least out of the gate. You could say Acura has a knack for this.
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