Acura is using the auto show season to feature its vision for the future of luxury sports sedans.
The Acura TLX Prototype first showed itself in Detroit at NAIAS 2014, promising (in Acura’s own words) “to deliver sports-sedan performance and agility in a more refined, sophisticated and technologically enhanced package.”
Canada – a land represented by that red maple leaf — should embrace the TLX concept since it’s been developed around the theme “Red Carpet Athlete.” I’m sure the walls at Acura were covered with images of elite sports figures in all of their sleek, athletic (and maybe red) glory. The idea was to inspire their designers and engineers to create “exhilarating performance enhanced by next-generation Acura powertrain and dynamic handling technologies.”
To achieve that more aggressive, sporty look, the TLX Prototype rides lower and wider — with less sprung weight, a more dramatic grill and aggressively sculpted fender arches Five spoke, 20-inch alloy wheels and tailor-made side mirrors distinguish the TLX from its predecessors.
Drivers will be able to select two or four wheel drive configurations from the cockpit, drawing power from an all-new 2.4 liter 16 valve, inline 4 cylinder engine and a new 8 speed transmission. A more advanced trim level offers a 3.5 liter V6 with direct injection and a new 9 speed automatic transmission.
The TLX is scheduled to arrive in showrooms by mid-2015.
