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GM Ultium-based 2024 Acura ZDX caught undisguised in spy photos

What you see above is our best look yet at the 2024 Acura ZDX. The SUV, while not completely production-ready (mainly the temporary headlights), is completely and totally devoid of line-obscuring camouflage. The resulting vehicle is clearly a toned-down Precision EV concept, and one that does a good job of hiding its GM underpinnings. Like the concept, it has a forward-leaning nose with a blanked-out version of the Acura corporate pentagonal grille. The long nose gives way to a seriously raked windshield and a floating roof. That roof has a distinct rear pillar treatment with a little notch for the rear glass to create that floating look. There are, of course, concessions to reality. The lower front fascia has relatively nondescript grilles, though they also don't detract from the rest of the vehicle. And naturally there are large door mirrors and conventional grab handles to get in. The ZDX will be based on the GM Ultium platform, and considering on the size and likely performance, will probably be closely related to the Chevy Blazer. To the credit of Acura's designers, and also perhaps to GM's architecture, the ZDX does not look like a reworked Blazer. And the differences will continue beyond the exterior. While GM will be dropping Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Honda and Acura versions of Ultium SUVs will keep the phone mirroring software. It will still have Google apps built-in as well as touchscreen support, unlike some gas-powered Acura models. We'll see the ZDX launch next year. It will even have a high-performance Type-S variant like the TLX and Integra. That leads us to believe something like the dual-motor 557-horsepower powertrain from the Blazer SS will be available. We'll be curious to see what the more mild powertrains will be like, if they'll all be dual-motor, or if there will be single-motor setups. And if there are single-motor layouts, whether they'll be front- or rear-wheel drive, as both options are available on Blazer. Related video:

Acura preps ILX for endurance racing challenge

Acura has used the occasion of this year's SEMA show to unveil a 2013 ILX that is remarkably different from the road-going car that we are familiar with. A far distance from the rather mildly performing street car, this ILX Endurance Racer is actually prepped to race at the grueling 25 Hours of Thunderhill in Willows, California.
The ILX racers (Team Honda Research has prepped two of them for the race) have actually each been constructed using two donor ILX sedans: one body-in-white chassis and one full production-spec car that donates powertrain, interior and electronic components. Overall, increasing the performance of the car was done mostly through extensive weight reduction rather than bumps in power. No figures have been given for the output of the ILX's K24Z7 engine, though we are told that a custom intake and exhaust have been fitted, as well as a racing flywheel.
A prominent LED lighting system dominates the front fascia of the ILX, along with a huge front splitter, while a massive wing speaks to the intentions of the car.

Daily Driver: 2015 Acura TLX

Daily Driver videos are micro-reviews of vehicles in the Autoblog press fleet, reviewed by the staffers who drive them every day. Today's Daily Driver features the 2015 Acura TLX, reviewed by Seyth Miersma. You can watch the video above or read a transcript below. Watch more Autoblog videos at /videos. Show full video transcript text Hey all, this is Seyth with Autoblog and I'm here in the 2015 Acura TLX. Right off the bat I can tell that the TLX doesn't feel anything like as sporting a sedan as the TL it replaced, at least not in the versions that I last drove, which admittedly were TL's with V6 power and the SH all wheel drive. This TLX has got a 2.4-liter, four-cylinder engine, it's making 206 horsepower, and 182 pound-feet of torque, and it is connected up to a eight-speed, dual-clutch transmission. As you can tell by the power output this isn't an impressively fast car. It weighs about 3,500 pounds so it's lugging around some weight. At the same time the eight-speed transmission is really responsive especially as you go through the selectable gear programs, you can make the throttle response pretty good. It is a throttle by wire as well and I haven't noticed any weirdness there, it feels very linear, and like I said, when I turned the system into the sport plus mode the gas pedal becomes really responsive. The exhaust note is muted, you really have to get up over 5,000 rpm before you start feeling like the engine is really pushing you. One of the things that struck me first about this Acura when I got in it was how quiet it was at speed. I feel like in the luxury segment, Acuras have historically done a little bit better for being sportier versions of cars in their segment and not necessarily more refined, but that seems to have been changing a lot on the last few generations of Acura. What it lacks in athletic ability it makes up for in composure. I'm on a pretty good right now, there are plenty of bad ones around where I live so this suspension soaks up a lot of the impacts and it dampens the sound of them as well too. Acura is clearly going after a much more mainstream customer these days and I think a car like this could be very attractive, more attractive than ever for a shopper of something like a Lexus ES. One feature I did play around with was Acura's active lane keep assist which works actually by moving the steering wheel to a degree to keep you centered in your lane if your hands are off the wheel.