Spy photographers caught this Acura prototype undergoing testing in Germany near the Nürburgring circuit. Its not the first time Honda's luxury brand has been spied in Europe.
With sporty crossovers/SUVs like the X6 from BMW filling the order book up for 2008 and difficult economic conditions on the global car markets, apparently more car makers are developing their version as well. And in this case it's Acura.
Although impossible to see the vehicle shape under the heavy camouflage, we can easily see that the covering extending from the middle of the roof over the rear end is propped up like a tent hiding the true contours of a sloping coupe like roof line similar to the X6. Furthermore, looking through the tail light and license plate cutouts in the cover, you can see the angled position of the tail lamps and rear body sitting away from the cover while following a sloping trajectory up towards the roof. Also, the downward sloping roof line is seen in the top of the rear door window frame.
Seeing an Acura model, distinguished by its prominent front grille, being testing in Germany begs the question - could Honda bring Acura to Europe just as Nissan has done with its luxury brand Infiniti this year? However, Honda could be readying the crossover for sales in Eastern Europe, especially Russia. Markets like Russia and the Middle East still have a healthy appetite for full-size crossovers – and this new model appears to be closer in size to the (X6-sized) Acura MDX rather than the (CR-V sized) RDX. There are still no plans to introduce the Acrua brand to the UK. Unlike Toyota and Nissan, Honda feels its volume brand is strong enough not to need a luxury stablemate.
Engines are unknown at this point, but the well known 3.7 litre V6 would be an obvious choice followed by a (long overdue and possibly too late) new V8 engine which Acura officials have confirmed will be introduced.
