Acura is rolling out a new design language, inspired by what the brand calls its “challenger spirit”.
Monterey Car Week is in full swing, and each year’s event is an opportunity for automakers to show some of their boldest concepts to the public. That’s certainly the case with Acura, which debuted its Nexera Vision Concept as part of one of the biggest enthusiast events on the calendar. As the brand passes the 40-year mark, its design team is looking to make its next moves toward a new generation of cars.
The Nexera Vision concept is a stunning, butterfly-doored sports coupe in its own right. Creative director Yasutake Tsuchida created this concept with the sort of striking and futuristic cues you’d expect. It has those doors, it has phantom lighting that integrates directly with the body work, and it has an incredibly minimalistic interior with a steering yoke, a single driver-focused screen element, low-slung bucket seats and a few buttons on the center console.
Sadly, it’s unlikely the Nexera would reach production as a bespoke model. Acura is rolling it out not so much for that purpose, but as an eye-catching expression of what it will bring to its next-gen models, beginning with the new hybrid RDX. That includes the new “ACURA” script (though whether it’s backlit remains to be seen), as well as the aggressive new lighting pattern. Again, it may be more conventional than the stealthy lighting that appears from the bodywork here, but the shape should inform what we’ll see on future Acuras. You may not get center-lock wheels, but it does get the imagination going on what a new Acura in, say, four or five years could look like.
If you want to check out the Nexera in person, it makes its world premiere on August 14, followed by a showcase on the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Concept Lawn on Sunday, August 16.
The automaker is also stressing sustainability as a core focus. So, the Nexera vision uses recycled aluminum, post-consumer recycled polyester for the Alcantara on the steering wheel, and CircuLeather that is a genuine leather material for the upholstery. Here, though, it’s taken from the food processing industry, so it’s a byproduct as part of a more “circular” lifecycle (hence the brand name).
Acura did not go into details on what specifically powers the Nexera Vision Concept. While the team did silently move it around the studio. That would suggest an EV, but the powertrain in this application isn’t really the point. It’s a design study, so you could argue this look could translate into hybrids (as it will with the RDX), pure ICE models or EVs.
Future applications boil down to what Acura thinks would be a good business case. Nevertheless, as much as the production models do draw inspiration from the Nexera, the brand’s future looks pretty spectacular. Next-generation NSX, anyone?
