2002 Acura Rsx Type S Jackson Racing Supercharged on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2015 Acura TLX

Immediately after landing at Washington's Dulles airport, an Acura representative handed me the keys to a 2014 TSX with fewer than 180 miles on its clock. The four-cylinder engine started and I pointed its signature beak towards a destination in Middleburg, VA. It was a curious move by the Japanese automaker, especially considering that I had flown no less than 2,300 miles to drive the discontinued vehicle's ostensible successor, the all-new 2015 Acura TLX.
Yet spending a solid 40 minutes with a sparkling-new version of the outgoing model that still smelled showroom fresh, allowed me an opportunity to scrutinize the dropped sedan and remind myself why it had never really blown me away - it was good at doing many things, but truly great at doing none.
Time with the TSX also started me thinking about the Acura TL, the second model that the TLX will effectively replace. I have better memories of the slightly larger sedan, especially the SH-AWD 6MT trim - it's a solid driver's car - but it, too, fell short in areas where competitors, including the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, Cadillac ATS, Lexus IS and Mercedes-Benz C-Class, excelled.

Acura, Penske reveal ARX-05 prototype racecar

CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA, Calif. — Acura pulled the cover off its striking Daytona prototype, called the ARX-05, as part of a new partnership with one of racing's most legendary names, Roger Penske. The racecar debuted Friday at The Quail, a vintage car show held during the week of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Acura and Team Penske will campaign two cars next season in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar championship, starting with the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January. ARX is short for Acura Racing eXperimental, generation five. The car will run a twin-turbo 3.5-liter V6 engine that's based on the J35 series six-cylinder used throughout Acura's lineup. The body, designed by Acura global creative director Dave Marek's team, uses design cues from the company's road cars, including similar headlights. The chassis is based on the Oreca 07 setup. "We're already testing, and things are looking pretty good," said Art St. Cyr, president of Honda Performance Development and Acura Motorsports. Acura has raced endurance cars since 1991, finding success in IMSA and the former American Le Mans series. Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya and Dane Cameron will drive one of the cars, while the other team to be announced later. Acura will face off against Nissan, Cadillac, Mazda, Oreca, Dallara and Multimatic Riley in the IMSA prototype field. The venture marks a return to sports-car competition for Penske, whose organization ran a Chevy Corvette in its first race at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona and then operated victorious ALMS programs into the 2000s. Penske sees racing as a way to raise the image of Acura, whose cars he sells at his dealerships, Penske Automotive Group. "We want to take this brand to the next level," he said. "It's [racing] a core part of our brand and it's one of the ways we are validating our performance," said Acura vice president and general manager Jon Ikeda. After The Quail, the ZRX-05 is scheduled to appear at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion and in a featured area for concept and racing cars on the lawn at the Concours. Related Video: Featured Gallery Acura ARX-05 Daytona Prototype Reveal View 11 Photos Related Gallery Acura ARX-05 race car View 12 Photos Image Credit: Live photos copyright 2017 Drew Phillips / Autoblog.com Motorsports Acura Racing Vehicles Pebble Beach daytona prototype

Hondata's 2019 Acura RDX tune brings the mid-range torque

One of the big advantages to the era of turbo Hondas is that there's plenty of horsepower and torque left on the table for tuners to take advantage of. One of those companies is Hondata, and following its upgrades for the Civic and Accord, it's now tuning the Acura RDX luxury crossover. The RDX uses a turbocharged 2.0-liter engine similar to those in the Accord and the Civic Type R. In stock form, it makes 272 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque. With Hondata's Stage 1 tune, the company says that horsepower increases by about 10 across the rev band. Looking at the dyno graph, it also appears that peak horsepower increases by about 5 horsepower, and peak torque is up by about 15 pound-feet. Peak torque also appears to arrive sooner, and most of the torque curve seems to be up by 10 to 15 pound-feet. The increases in power and torque are available in all four of the RDX's drive modes. The Stage 2 tune increases power torque even more in Sport and Sport+ modes, and keeps Snow and Comfort modes at Stage 1 settings. Peak horsepower looks to be up about 10 over stock, but the mid-range sees as much as a 28-hp increase. Peak torque sees a huge jump of about 45 lb-ft over stock based on the dyno chart, and it's available even lower than the Stage 1's peak torque. If this all sounds good to you, you can order up a Hondata FlashPro computer for your RDX right now. It costs $695 and comes with the handheld computer for uploading or removing tunes. RDX owners in California should note that neither tune is currently CARB legal. Related Video: