Acura on Thursday presented the Performance EV concept at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, one of the premier events of 2024 Monterey Car Week currently underway in California.
The concept is a sleek, four-door GT riding on raised suspension, and it previews a production model coming in 2025. The production model is unlikely to be a carbon copy of what you see here, though Dave Marek, Acura's creative director, said a number of design elements from the concept will be retained for future showroom-bound vehicles.
We can imagine the new front end devoid of a grille being retained. Acura said the design was inspired by modern hydrofoil superyachts. Other key traits include a long wheelbase and muscular wheel arches housing 23-inch wheels wrapped in performance rubber that measures 295 millimeters wide. Housed within the wheels are cross-drilled brakes with white calipers.
The concept's technology will also be shared with future showroom vehicles. The concept is based on a new dedicated EV platform developed in-house by Acura parent company Honda, which will use it for various EVs including the 0 (Zero) Series EV family announced in January at 2024 CES. The new EV brand Afeela established by Honda and Sony is also expected to use the platform.
Acura Performance EV concept
The platform is unrelated to General Motors' Ultium EV platform and battery technology featured in Acura's debut EV, the 2024 ZDX. It is flexible enough to support vehicles in various segments, though the first vehicles will be in the “mid-to-large” segments.
Acura didn't release any specifications for the platform but Honda has previously said vehicles on its new platform are targeted to deliver a range of 300 or more miles. Honda has also said the platform will use in-house developed software for the operating system and infotainment.
The showroom-bound vehicle based on Acura's Peformance EV concept will enter production in late 2025, pointing to it arriving as a 2026 model in the U.S. It will be the first EV to be built at parent company Honda's sprawling production facility located just outside Marysville, Ohio. The site is being retooled to manufacture EVs and their components, including batteries, and is now referred to by the automaker as the Honda EV Hub.
