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Acura announces NSX GT3 Evo22 race car will live on

The Acura NSX may be winding down production in 2022, but it still has some life left on the track. Today, Acura announced that it will introduce a new version of its NSX GT3 race car. It features a slew of improvements that should make the platform more competitive. Called the NSX GT3 Evo22, it builds upon the existing NSX GT3 a car that has won multiple championships in IMSA, SRO and Japan's SuperGT. The Evo22 gets improved intercoolers for the 3.5-liter twin-turbo shared with the road car, allowing it to perform consistently in a wider range of conditions and locations. Underneath, the suspension earns some tweaks in revised spring rates and geometry adjustments. To improve the car for endurance racing, the Evo22 reduces pit time with larger fluid tanks, while a revised wheel system allows for quicker tire changes. An FIA-mandated rain light illuminates the rear. Acura will also offer several air conditioning and headlight options. As with the outgoing NSX GT3, the Evo22 eschews the road car's hybrid and all-wheel-drive systems. Instead, it employs an XTRAC semi-automatic six-speed sequential transmission to send power to the rear wheels. Both the race and road car, however, share the same specs for the engine block, heads, valvetrain, crankshaft, pistons, and dry-sump lubrication system. The motors and chassis are both built at Acura's Performance Manufacturing Center in Ohio, while final assembly for the GT3 takes place in Milan, Italy. While European GT3s are supported from Italy, Honda Performance Division in Southern California will support North American teams. The NSX GT3 is the defending IMSA GTD and SRO GT Manufacturers’ Champion, and has achieved 25 IMSA and SRO class wins since its North American introduction in 2017. Interestingly, Acura says the the NSX GT3 is homologated globally through 2024. So, while new road cars won't be produced after next year, you'll still see them representing the "A" calipers at the track beyond that.

Acura bringing near-production-ready concept sedan to Pebble Beach

Three years ago Acura turned many heads with the Precision concept. Said to be the future of Acura design language, the latest RDX crossover is the most full-bodied expression of the Precision Crafted Performance design language. The rest of the range has only gone as far as the Diamond Pentagon grille. That looks to change later this year, when Acura brings a near-production-ready four-door to Pebble Beach that's inspired by the Precision. Car and Driver, which got a peek into Acura's Southern California design studio, says the tea leaves "point to a new production Acura sedan in the Precision concept's gorgeous 'four-door coupe' form." Believing the Pebble display will be "a tribute to the best of Acura's past" and could presage a flagship to replace the RLX, C/D wonders if the carmaker won't reach into its deep past and resurrect the Legend name. That's seems a bit much, but we have only six months to wait. After that, the next-generation TLX sedan and MDX crossover will arrive, and are expected to wear Precision cues. Both are scheduled to make landfall at the end of this year or beginning of next year. Based on shapes bulging under taut covers, C/D says both will receive stretched front intakes and "hook-shaped, extruded taillights." A juiced TLX Type S with a ducktail spoiler appears to lurk in the near future, too. Eventually, the second coming of the ZDX crossover might get the nod as well. Acura sold the severely rakish crossover coupe from 2009 to 2013, well before crossover coupes had established themselves. Looking at what's happened in the past 10 years, the ZDX was either ahead of its time, or consumers only want diminished rear headroom from German crossovers; no Japanese luxury maker has yet put a sloped roof on one of its crossovers. That means if a new ZDX does come, it could be just as novel the second time as it was the first.Related Video:

Top 10 small cars with the longest total driving range

Editor's Note: Since this article was originally posted in the spring of 2015, much has changed in the automotive landscape, especially among those shopping for small car economy. With thanks to Volkswagen for their blatant cheating – and subsequent cover-up – on diesel emissions, the largest player in the diesel passenger car segment isn't playing – they're paying; billions are going for both car buybacks and federally-imposed penalties. And for a few VW execs there exists the very real possibility of jail. With the absence of a big player and the abrupt entrance – via Chevy's new Bolt – of an affordable EV with 200+ miles of range, we've limited the diesel listings to Jaguar's new XE. And for those wanting an updated look at efficiency and range, Autoblog has it – or the EPA has it. Long before electric vehicles were part of the mainstream conversation, car lovers and skinflints alike would boast about the total range of their vehicles. There's something about getting farther down the road on one tank of gas that inflames the competitive spirit, almost as much as horsepower output or top speed. Of course, the vehicles with the very best range on today's market are almost all big trucks and SUVs; virtually all have the ability to carry massive reserves of fuel. Top up a standard Chevy Suburban and you can expect to travel almost 700 miles (you'll need to stop before the Suburban stops...), while a diesel-fed Jeep Grand Cherokee manages almost as many. But what about vehicles that are smaller? The EPA has, essentially, three classifications for 'small' vehicles: Minicompact, Subcompact and Compact. All three are measured based on interior volume, meaning that some cars with rather large exterior dimensions and engines slot in next to traditional small cars. But even though impressive GT coupes from Porsche, Bentley and Mercedes-Benz may have much larger gas tanks to feed their powerful engines, that capacity is offset by higher rates of consumption... in most cases. We used the EPA's Fuel Economy Guide for model year 2017 cars as a start, calculating the official highway miles per gallon rating with each vehicle's tank capacity. The resulting numbers aren't necessarily real world, but they do offer a spectrum for total theoretical range. The eventual top ten surprised me on a few occasions, and comprised quite a varied list of vehicles. 10.