Acura Electric Cars

Acura Electric Cars

Introduction
Most Japanese automakers have the mainstream car company as well as the under-affiliate in charge of making luxury vehicles.  This is no different from Acura which is essentially the under-affiliate in charge of making luxury vehicles for Honda, one of the most respected automakers in the world.  Their history with electricity technology starts in 2003 and has continued through to the present day, although releases of actual workable products lag well behind the actual history.

Electric Car Timeline

The first time people heard about the idea of electrification from Acura was actually in a 2003 press release.  This release introduced a new concept car into the mix from Acura known as the DN-X. 

The DN-X has not come to pass in the seven or so years since its introduction and from what can be gleaned in the mainstream media these days it is still little more than a concept.  Even behind closed doors there are really no rumours that suggest anything other than a concept for the DN-X, but since this car was the first Acura concept to carry the idea of electrification it would be remiss not to mention the idea here.

The basic point of the DN-X was to take electrification and create a high-end vehicle that would really reflect not only the tastes of the high-end marketplace but also the performance that would outstrip the common criticism of electric cars as being less powerful than their fossil fuel counterparts. 

In order to facilitate this, Acura’s DN-X design was essentially given a V6 system that would collectively have a displacement value of 3.5 litres.  That engine was then combined with hybrid electric technology in order to create the environmentally friendly side of the car.  The end result was that the sports car was supposed to be able to achieve an efficiency of 42 miles per gallon while at the same time maintaining a 6-speed manual transmission that was capable of speeds in the hundreds of miles per hour range.  Since this car has been nothing more than a concept it is hard to comment on whether or not those goals were achievable, but they certainly were goals that Acura set out to achieve in the 2003 brief.  As of yet however, the DN-X is not real.

What is real on the other hand is the TSX, a car from Acura that is set to go electric in the near future.