The Acura RSX Prototype is making its debut during Monterey Car Week, but we got an early look.
At the moment, Honda’s EVs (both in its mainstream brand and in its Acura luxury brand) are co-developed models with General Motors’ midsize electric SUVs. That will not be the case moving forward, though, as we have the Honda 0 Series to look to and this: the 2026 Acura RSX Prototype. The automaker decided to reveal the look of its new electric SUV at Pebble Beach this week, and Nathan and I had an opportunity to check it out in Los Angeles before that official debut. So, what is this model all about?
It’s a fresh start, of sorts, as this will be the first in-house EV the company is actually bringing to market in the second half of 2026. This will arrive before the Honda 0 SUV and Saloon (which Nathan checked out earlier this year), and give buyers the first experience of its next-generation technology.
At the moment, Acura is only keen to show the exterior styling because it isn’t ready to show us the interior just yet, as happened with the Honda Prelude. There’s still plenty to talk about, however, and the company did provide some nuggets of information on the eventual production model’s performance capabilities. Right from the outset, this new RSX Prototype looks like no other current Acura. You get an aggressive-looking front end that carries over pretty much unchanged from the Performance EV Concept it showed off during last year’s Monterey Car Week. The significant change is a set of headlights below the slim daytime running lights, and a slightly less pronounced crease down the center of the fascia.
Down the side, you have functional vents along the doors to improve aerodynamics around the 21-inch wheels, with additional (also functional) vents in the rear bumper. The RSX also features flush door handles, then as you move rearward the SUV’s coupe-like roofline dominates the rear design. At the back, the ducktail-style spoiler pulls your eye toward the thin full-width LED lightbar. As you move down the tailgate, you’ll also notice the “ACURA” badging across the center (an all-too-common theme for new cars these days), then a gloss black lower fascia to carry the contrast from the Propulsion Yellow Pearl paint on this example model through from front to rear.
Acura promises dual-motor performance and a set of Brembo brakes as standard equipment, so this could be a solid Model Y Performance alternative.
While we (sadly) won’t get the rearview cameras mounted on the doors, what we will get is a dual-motor, all-wheel drive SUV with double wishbone front suspension, a low center-of-gravity and Brembo brakes. Acura says the racier bits come as standard equipment on the RSX, so we may not necessarily see an A-Spec/Type S split for a base and performance model, like we do with the ZDX.
We’ll have to wait a little while to see actual numbers to bear that out. At this point, it’s unclear exactly how hard Acura is going to go with the RSX, particularly when you look at it against the competition and against its own ZDX stablemate. Size-wise, the RSX occupies a similar space to the gas-powered RDX. Depending on its output and overall performance chops, though, we may see the RSX come pretty close to the current ZDX Type S’ price tag, though we probably won’t find out until early next year.
Software and driver assistance is also front and center with the RSX
When it hits the scene later in 2026, the new Acura RSX will feature a standard NACS (Tesla-style) charging port, for a start. Beyond that, the automaker is taking this opportunity (as Honda did with the 0 Series) to tout its ASIMO operating system. It’s part of the company’s ambition to jump on the “software-defined” bandwagon, where it can readily update the vehicle to add or improve features over time. the ASIMO OS is also designed to learn from your preferences and driving behavior, to tune the RSX’s in-car experience to your own tastes.
The 2026 Acura RSX Prototype, on top of naturally offering DC fast-charging capability, will also have vehicle-to-load (V2L) support. That way, you can use your RSX to power a range of electronic devices, including providing backup power for your home or sending energy back to the grid. Again, Acura did not mention exactly how powerful the inverter is to do that just yet, but we’ll have more information sometime in the next several months.
Acura plans to build the new RSX at its Marysville, Ohio plant, on the same production line as the Acura Integra. Honda is partnering with LG Energy Solution to provide battery packs from a nearby facility, with that partnership and the rest of the nearby supplier chain creating the “Honda EV Hub” that will also produce the production-spec 0 Series models and perhaps other EVs down the line as well.
If you want to check out the new Acura RSX Prototype’s design in person, it will be at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering on Friday, August 15, and feature on the Concept Lawn at Pebble Beach this upcoming Sunday, August 17.
