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New 2022 Acura MDX platform to underpin future Hondas

The 2022 Acura MDX introduces a new platform to the Acura and Honda lineup called the Global Light Truck Platform, and it's currently exclusive to the MDX. The new 2021 Acura TLX is also built on a totally new platform that isn’t shared with any other Honda or Acura. Going further back, when the redesigned 2019 RDX debuted, Acura said that model was built on “a new-from-the-ground-up, Acura-exclusive platform." ThatÂ’s three totally-new and Acura-exclusive platforms in a short time period, and it got us thinking. What is Acura up to here?  Most manufacturers these days are increasingly going in the exact opposite direction. VolkswagenÂ’s MQB architecture underpins everything from the hot hatch GTI to the gigantic Atlas. ToyotaÂ’s TNGA platform has multiple sizes/versions, but Toyota still considers them related and will tell you that TNGA is the basis of cars from the Corolla on up to the Highlander, plus the Lexus UX and ES. You can find similar stories all across the industry, in both luxury and non-luxury brands. Acura, on the other hand, appears to be taking a totally different approach. To get some clarity on strategy, we reached out to Acura. The answers are multifaceted, but Acura says it's spending money where it pays dividends for performance — but there's also more sharing between models than it might look like on the surface. “The definition of what constitutes a 'common platform' varies by automaker,” Acura exclusively told Autoblog during a wide-ranging e-mail interview involving the input of numerous engineers and product planners. “For us, the most fundamental value is to maintain the same carry points throughout production and enable us to produce different vehicles in the same manufacturing environment.” As an example, the TLX and RDX feature similar carry points in the chassis to enable their production on the same line, but thatÂ’s where the two diverge. “The TLX is different in that it has a bespoke platform that is not shared with any other Acura or Honda vehicle,” Acura says.

There will be a third-generation NSX, says Acura V.P.

The second-generation Acura NSX might be going out in a blaze of glory, but it won't be the last we see of the supercar. This promise comes directly from Acura Vice President and Brand Officer Jon Ikeda. Furthermore, Ikeda implied that the next version might be electric. Ikeda divulged thoughts about a third-gen NSX while being interviewed by The Drive and Motor Trend. To the former, he explained Acura's mission with the the mid-engined supercar. "We make an NSX when there's something we want to say. The first-gen was gas. Second-gen was a hybrid. There's gonna be another one." Unless Ikeda is talking about hydrogen or some kind of heretofore undisclosed technology like  Mr. Fusion, this pretty much means electric. That means the NSX is likely to take another hiatus after the Type S closes out the 2022 model year. Between the first and second generations, the halo sports car had an 11-year absence on the market. Ikeda laid out the reasons for the nameplate's 2016 return when he spoke to Motor Trend. "Honda is one of the biggest gasoline engine makers in the world and needed to see what will happen in a world turning away from engines," he explained. It was always meant to be a halo car. "We didn't go into it to make a lot of money," he stated. The second generation had a much shorter lifespan than the game-changing first gen. That one spanned one and a half decades, from 1990 to 2005. The current generation, once it exits stage left in 2022, will have only had a six-year run. One could argue that the first gen overstayed its welcome, though. After thoroughly turning the supercar world on its ear, by forcing Ferrari et al to reconsider their engineering, the NSX's competitors quickly caught up to Honda's lead. While the NSX did undergo a couple of major changes during its first lifespan, by the time it left the market it was more of a dwindle. Acura is determined not to let that happen with the current NSX. In this case, they're sending it off with the most powerful iteration yet, a 600-horsepower Type S with reworked turbos, cooling system and aerodynamics and limiting production to 350 worldwide. Ikeda told Motor Trend, "We didn't want to let the NSX die on the vine either. To go quietly into the night is not what it deserves."

Acura NSX electric revival? 'I would bet on it'

This year marks the end of the Acura NSX as we know it. Its swan song, the 600-horsepower 2022 Type S, saw only 300 made for the U.S. market, and all of them sold out in 24 hours. It's barely disappeared over the horizon, but Acura's V.P. and brand officer is already previewing the NSX's third act. Speaking with Nikkei Asia, Jon Ikeda was asked whether a third generation NSX was forthcoming. "I would bet on it," he said. Ikeda also predicted that if the wager lands in his favor, "it's going to be [all-]electric." This falls in line with statements Ikeda made a year ago. At the time, he explained that the NSX emerges when parent company Honda wants to make a statement: The first generation was Honda's vision for an F1-derived petrol-powered supercar; the second generation arrived as an affordable hybrid halo car in the age of gasoline-electrics. He didn't elaborate on the third generation's powertrain back then, but this time Ikeda was more adamant about electric power.  Part of Ikeda's certainty, the article states, comes from global CEO Toshihiro Mibe's commitment to electrify Honda's lineup. Soon after taking the top job in April 2021, Mibe announced plans to convert Honda's entire lineup to EVs and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles by 2040. As for what kind of car an electric NSX would be, Ikeda has some ideas. "It won't be just about straight lines," he told Nikkei Asia. Blistering acceleration is already common in the electric supercar world, so Acura would need to bring something novel to the table. Ikeda wants the NSX to be a technological showcase for ultimate handling as well, something the outgoing NSX did with its driver-focused Super Handling AWD system.  We've long bemoaned how the new breed of electrified supercars have incredible specs on paper, but somehow don't feel as engaging to drive. That's a niche Acura could fill. In the often contentious give and take between American Honda and Honda Motor's engineering departments, the Japan mothership tends to win out. However, these days Honda barely sells anything beyond kei cars in Japan. It's up to leaders like Ikeda and those who understand the U.S. market to drag the company toward the performance-minded engineering philosophies Old Man Soichiro founded his business on. Related video: