Acura pulled the wraps off its Precision Concept at the 2016 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit. Sculpted by the Acura Design Studio located in Los Angeles, California, the Acura Precision Concept reveals the luxury carmaker’s future design language that will find its way to the next generation of performance-luxury sedans.
“There is no more clear promise for the Acura brand than Precision Crafted Performance,” said Jon Ikeda, vice president and general manager of Acura. “We’re committed to infusing this core Acura promise into every facet of our products and every aspect of our relationship with the customer.”
That “precision crafted performance” mantra will serve as the core value for Acura and all of its future products. The company’s goal is to produce industry leading products with outstanding quality and reliability.
The Precision Concept expresses several new design features that communicates Acura’s focus on performance and prestige. Deeply sculpted surfaces, long dash-to-axle ratio, ultra-low and wide stance, signature lighting, and a new Diamond Pentagon grille are the leading design cues that will infuse Acura’s styling DNA for many years to come.
A strong emphasis of seamlessly transitioning materials and shapes from the exterior to the interior, which Acura calls “quantum continuum”, is an important aspect of the Precision concept. Opposing doors negate the need for a B-pillar. The angular door rocker panel flows the interior side sill and transitions into a cantilever for the ultra-thin “floating” seats.
The cockpit gets a F1-style flat-bottom steering wheel with front-mounted paddle shifters and Integrated Dynamics System (IDS) controls, a dual-layered instrument panel, head-up display, and a floating center meter. In the middle is a cantilevered center stack and a wide, thin and curved center display screen that retracts into the dashboard.
The Acura Precision Concept also explores a new approach for Acura’s digital human-machine interface (HMI), enabling a more intuitive, advanced and seamless connection between man and machine. The ultra-wide and curved center screen is operated by a floating touch pad suspended on the cantilevered center stack. Upon entry, artificial intelligence is used to customize the driver experience by selecting personalized features and functions, including maps, audio and customized vehicle performance settings, for each occupant it recognizes. Imagine using human biometrics to aid with security as well as safety.
About the Acura Precision Concept
The Acura Precision Concept was created to explore new and challenging ideas for future Acura design, particularly Acura sedans. The concept was created by Acura’s California Design Studio under the direction of Acura global creative director, Dave Marek. The exterior design was led by Michelle Christensen, principal exterior designer, with the interior design created under the leadership of John Norman, principal interior designer. Both Christensen and Norman also played a key role in the creation of the next-generation Acura NSX supercar.
