We had to commend Honda’s North American luxury wing, Acura, when it brought back the Integra name a few years ago. It may not have been the trad coupe it used to be, but it did still have petrol power and a manual gearbox, and wasn’t a jacked-up crossover.
Now, the brand is reviving another sports car name from its past, but enthusiasts might have a harder time getting excited about this one: like the Ford Capri has in Europe, the Acura RSX is returning as a sloping-backed EV crossover thing in North America.
Acura RSX Prototype – front detail
The Acura RSX, if you’re unfamiliar, was the North American name for the final-gen DC5 Honda Integra, with the range topped off by a 200bhp Type S version with a revvy 2.0-litre VTEC unit.
The new RSX, which, following a disguised prototype being shown off at the start of the year, has just been unveiled in near-final form at Monterey Car Week, has… none of that. That’s because it’s electric, and will in fact be one of the first cars to sit on Honda’s new in-house EV platform that’ll also underpin its long-awaited 0 Series range.
Acura RSX Prototype – side
Look past the controversial name, and lots of the new RSX’s makeup sounds rather promising. Details are still scant for now, but the full production version is set to feature a standard dual-motor drivetrain, ‘sport-tuned’ double wishbone front suspension, and brakes courtesy of Brembo.
It’ll also be the first production application of Honda’s new Asimo operating system. Named after the company’s cute but infamously staircase-fearing robot, it’ll run everything from the infotainment to the vehicle management systems in the company’s next generation of EVs.
Acura RSX Prototype – rear
The Acura brand is exclusive to North America, and indeed, there currently aren’t any public plans to bring the new RSX to other parts of the world with Honda badges, despite it sounding like it could make a convincing rival for the likes of the Alpine A390. We’ll see the production-ready car in the second half of next year.
