When you set foot on the lawn at Pebble Beach, expect to see cars from some of the finest names under the sun. We’re talking brands like Bugatti, Pininfarina, and…Acura. Alright, so that last name might not immediately come to mind when you think about billionaires and golf courses, but Pebble Beach has been a historically important show for Acura. From the NSX concept to the ZDX Type-S, various models have debuted at Car Week over the past few years, and the Acura Performance EV Concept is the latest look at where the brand’s going.
The automaker claims the Acura Performance EV Concept is a preview of what’s to come when Acura starts cranking out EVs of its own next year, all made in Ohio without any of GM’s help. And you know what? As far as coupe-style SUVs go, this one looks pretty handsome. It cuts a sleek silhouette, with the peak of the roof being in the correct place, leading to a surprisingly graceful rear end. On a macro level, it’s really, really, ridiculously good-looking, which should mean that if anything were to look like this, it’d sell like hotcakes, right? However, zoom in a bit, and things get somewhat derivative.
Let’s start with the headlights, because they’re some of the most expensive things an automaker develops for a production model, so setting a unique styling direction with new headlights is critical. While the illumination on these units is tremendously even in a way only concept cars can manage, don’t they look like the housings came from a $25,000 Buick Envista?
It’s a similar deal at the back. The blade-like taillight and wraparound glass is undeniably handsome, but is it just me, or does it conjure up shades of recent Lotus models? Acura claims the taillight, decklid, and diffuser treatment are meant to echo the second-generation NSX, but it almost feels like the former and latter elements the mick out of the Emira and Eletre, which is objectively hilarious, and the one in the middle, the taillight, just feels a bit common. It’ll take a while for it to stick as an Acura taillight, and for a brand that’s trying to re-establish its identity, that’s a bit of a problem.
Perhaps part of this derivative look is because the last time Acura stuck its neck out and went with a really out-there styling direction, people hated it. I’ve heard the “Power Plenum” grille on the 2009 TL sedan compared to everything from a beak to a vegetable slicer, and even though that was 15 years ago, it still feels like Acura’s trying to find its footing.
I’m sure the electric vehicle that the Acura Performance EV Concept previews will be perfectly cromulent. Quite likely, even good. However, in the electric age, where a brand is more frequently an image rather than a set of distinct engineering differences, Acura’s new direction just doesn’t set itself apart. That wouldn’t be a problem in a mainstream product, but getting consumers to pay premium pricing for derivative styling may prove challenging. Is the Derek Zoolander approach enough without a clearly unique styling identity? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
(Photo credits: Acura)
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Cool, no door handles!
Cool, no port for the electricity!
I put it to you that it does not, in fact, look great. It looks like somebody got the from end of a stupid-looking boat stuck in a generic CUV ‘coupe’. I do not care for it.
Thats a Buick baby.
Once again, they’ve taken good sedan styling and draped it over an ugly SUV platform. So yes, it looks like an Acura, but it doesn’t look like performance.
I think it looks like the NSX (v2.0) which doesn’t look like an Acrua, so NO.
Looks like the long-lost successor to the Isuzu Nagisa.
That’s not a grille, it’s a ship’s prow.
That looks like a car from the 16 bit era of video games.
Not loving it, Acuras current grill is excellent, one of the best around, and now they are messing with it again…sigh.
Looks more like a new ZDX.
There have been 100 years of cars. Most anything can look derivative at this point.
That’s what I thought too. It’s got the same “but why?” proportions as the first generation ZDX.
Gadzooks this is an ugly vehicle. The front end looks like a sea creature, but not in the fun way, and the profile seems comical to me, but also not in the fun way. It seems like it doesn’t know what kind of car it’s trying to be.
And Acura veers into the ugly lane once again. Looks like a defaced Angler fish.
Ehhh I just can’t get over how unnecessarily high this thing rides.
You’ll have angry origami styling, and you’ll like it!
this thing looks ridiculous.
The most ridiculous thing about it?
Ground effects bodywork for a body that’s a foot off the ground.
Boaty McBoatface, your car is here!
It’s fine. But it’d look better as a sedan/hatchback. Not that anyone would buy it if it were, sadly.
Rear 3/4 is a Lotus Evora S, and the general front vibe is reminiscent of the Buick Envista, especially the eyebrow DRL.
I took one look and thought ‘boat’ and two minutes later it’s an old idea.
From the front it looks like they were trying to update the amphicar into a hydrofoil.
This reminds me of the Seaview’s flying sub from “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea,” which, is where I hope Acura consigns this design. And maybe the designer, too.
The front looks like a boat.
Doesn’t look like an Acura, but that’s a good thing.
Acura really doesn’t have an established styling language. They just kind of stumble from styling failure to styling failure, often ending up with something beak-like in the process.
I was very close to buying a current Integra, and I’m kind of glad I didn’t. That face.
I kinda like it?? At least it’s interesting. Frankly, this should have been included in the Amphicar remake excercise.. that prow looks like it was made for the open water.
I saw that too. Diregarding the black parts, that front looks very hydrodynamic.
Where do the props pop out from when this (hideous) thing hits the water?
That is definitely something….the front looks like a superhero mask. But the rest looks like a Buick.
The GM partnership continues! That’s a Buick!
It’s certainly pointy.