Detroit Motor Show: Acura Precision Concept

Honda has been emerging from a slumber lately and its US luxury brand Acura is clearly part of the re-awakening if this sexy Precision Concept is anything to go by.

It is claimed the styling of the Precision Concept will directly influence the future of Acura vehicles – some of which, like the Accord Euro and new NSX, have or will become Honda models for our market.

Fingers crossed, too, because the Precision Concept is a large-sedan looker that could become the next Acura RLX, also known in Japan as the Honda Legend we’ve been familiar with here before.

With no shortage of creases and slashes, a low and wide stance, rakish coupe-like side without a B-pillar, and long body featuring a wheelbase almost as expansive, the Precision Concept to our eyes looks properly ‘premium Japanese’. Just call it an Oriental take on an Audi S7 Sportback.

That broad dash-to-axle ratio indicates it could be rear-wheel drive, while the 22-inch Michelin Pilot Super Sport rubber could certainly handle the power of, say, the 373kW 3.5-litre twin-turbocharged V6 from the NSX. Paddleshifters and an Integrated Dynamics System (IDS) button on a “race-inspired” sports steering wheel are further hints at strong performance within.

Alas, Acura isn’t talking drivetrain details, though it is heralding the Precision Concept as previewing “a bolder, more distinctive future for Acura vehicles.”

“The Acura Precision Concept is more than simply a concept vehicle, it is a design study model that literally will shape the direction of all future Acura products,” the brand added.

“[It] is the leading edge of a renewed commitment to delivering Precision Crafted Performance in every facet of the product experience and creating a powerful and very exciting direction for the next generation of Acura models.”

See the quotes “more distinctive future” and “renewed commitment” as admissions that Acura’s current lineup – as with Honda’s – is as exciting as bread. Arguably, however, the Precision Concept duels with the Buick Avista for the crown of sexiest release of the Detroit motor show.

The NSX supercar is due in Australian showrooms in the third-quarter of this year as a Honda, expected to be priced around $200K. We can only hope a production version of this coupe-like sedan follows the same path and remains more exciting to look at (and drive) than the Legend we last saw locally in 2013.