Acura Concept Reveals Direction of RL Redesign

[go77306]

NEW YORK — Acura’s RL Prototype that was unveiled Wednesday morning at the New York International Auto Show will bear a remarkable resemblance to the production version, the redesigned RL luxury performance sedan, which will go on sale this fall as a 2005 model. The RL Prototype is Acura’s first all-wheel-drive passenger car, and it houses the most powerful engine that Honda’s luxury division has ever offered.

The RL Prototype’s “super-handling all-wheel drive” (SH-AWD) is capable of sending 70 percent of the vehicle’s power to either the front or rear wheels, depending on driving conditions, or 100 percent of the power to the outer rear wheel as the vehicle is cornering. Through this system of “lateral thinking,” understeer is virtually eliminated.

The RL Prototype also features a 3.5-liter VTEC V-6 that, at a capacity of 300 horsepower, is more powerful than any engine featured in a previous Acura vehicle. This engine mates with a five-speed Sequential SportShift automatic transmission that allows gears to be engaged either through the shift lever in the center console or from the Formula One-type paddle shifters on the steering wheel.


full article (http://www.cforum.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=91)

[JordanLotoski]

mannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn...thats awesome

[hjr]

wow, and the styling is still suprisingly bland. I never understood how the Acura could make well engineered cars that had no character (except for the TSX)

[nismodrifter]

that's more like what I thought the new TL would look like.......

[JordanLotoski]

Originally posted by hjr
wow, and the styling is still suprisingly bland. I never understood how the Acura could make well engineered cars that had no character (except for the TSX)


are you kidding me the tsx is one of the blandest cars they make

[1badPT]

I dunno whats worse, lack of style which Acura seems to have or blatantly copying other company's styles like Lexus. At least Infiniti can come up with original styles that actually look good.

[That.Guy.S30]

i find that thing freaking ugly. the interior is nice but i rather have a subaru legacy. and whats with everyone and the AWD craze.

[benyl]

AWD is the answer to a FWD platform with more power.

300 hp would have way too much torque steer.

[That.Guy.S30]

^^ hmm never thought of it that way.

[A2VR6]

Not bad, atleast it's a step up from the current RL.

[kenny]

Blue brakes and blue light up cluster for the ricer inside you! I like the car, not too bad looking but definitely could have a more agressive look to it.

[benyl]

Yeah, it doesn't look so much like my Grandfather's car anymore...

[mo_virgin]

Its really Ugly... it hints at the corolla and camry styling to me

http://a137.g.akamai.net/n/137/3538/20040407172227/www.cars.com/features/autoshows/2004/newyork

[go77306]

Yes, it is ugly! look the dashboard, really ugly!

[sputnik]

Looks kinda Impala-ish

[Xtrema]

Civic headlight shape
+ 99TL side profile
+ Tiburon tail lights

= one unoriginal fugly car.

May look better in person but I'm not feeling it.

[C4S]

Good engine, good awd system, good feature, good wheels .. but . the look for the car .. :dunno:

Lack of the " WOW " as the 1991 Legend when it came out ..

anyway .. that is the trend .. every car looks "Americanize" !

Toyota .. Honda .. Nissan ( one of the worst ! look at the new Maxiam and Altima ! ) :banghead:

Mazda is actually the only japanese brand, make good looking Sedan ! :thumbsup:

Even BMW, Benz, Audi , Volvo ... their designs are kind of weird now .. ( um .. for BMW new style, like it or not ! )

Mini is probaby the only " WOW " looking European car now .. :nut:

anyway ..... good to see Honda is not giving the slow selling legend !

[blitz]

You guys have to remember, the car's not being marketed towards people in our general age bracket. Sure, it's not that aggressive looking, but it is clean and looks high class. Acura knows if we had 50k to spend, we probably wouldn't be going with an RL.

[xkon]

I think it looks good, i never liked the previous RL

[ZorroAMG]

What a sweet-ass Grand Prix.


(That was not a compliment. To either car.)

[lam-boy]

damn 20 inch rims haha.
i like the gagues though, it looks nice.

[rc2002]

It's about time they redesigned the RL. They've redesigned all of their cars except for that one. And right now the TL is a lot more car for the money than the RL is...

[Skyline_Addict]

never liked the RL.
but atleast this is a step in the right direction.
no manual transmission either...