John Mendel – Executive Vice President, American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
Good morning, everyone. We’re excited to have you here with us today to share some important new developments that speak to the strong performance direction we are taking with the Acura brand, starting with this restyled and refreshed 2017 Acura MDX.
As you can see, upping the performance pedigree of the MDX with bold styling and our Sport Hybrid powertrain represents a major injection of the Acura Brand’s Precision Crafted Performance DNA. MDX is a pillar of the Acura brand, our highest volume model seven years running, and the best-selling three-row luxury SUV of all time. And with America’s love affair with SUVs growing stronger by the day, we are taking the opportunity to make MDX even better.
The centerpiece of this redesigned MDX is our signature new diamond pentagon grille. We previewed it in Detroit on the Acura Precision Concept, where we told you that it wouldn’t be too long before you saw this bold new face of Acura on a production model, and here it is.
The new grille transitions into the re-styled Jewel Eye headlights and is paired with more aggressive bodywork.The more sharply contoured hood, front fenders, and side sill are all new, with the revised bumper design housing new LED fog lights. And it’s complemented in back by a freshened rear fascia and twin exhaust pipes, again, reflecting our focus on performance. And for upper grades, which account for roughly 80 percent of the overall model mix, we’re applying larger 20-inch wheels and tires that give MDX a more athletic stance and payoff the performance capabilities of its Super-Handling All Wheel Drive powertrain.
Taken together, these styling changes take MDX a big step into the future of Acura designand styling infused by our Precision Crafted Performance direction.
But the major design changes aren’t limited to exterior styling. Inside, we’ve given MDX the most premium content in this best-selling model’s 15-year history.This includes available genuine wood accents and, for our Advance models, we’re fitting MDX with second-row captain’s chairs and a center console in place of the three-person bench seat. Further, all models get an electronic parking brake and SiriusXM Radio 2.0, while upper grades add all the features you see listed here, including available remote engine start, a heated steering wheel, HD Digital Traffic and a new Surround View camera.
The refinements to the 2017 MDX continue under the hood. We’re giving MDX customers the choice of two powertrains: our 3.5-liter direct injected V-6 mated to a 9-speed automatic transmission, available in two-wheel drive or Super-Handling All Wheel Drive; and for the first time on MDX, Acura’s revolutionary Sport Hybrid technology. The MDX follows the new NSX supercar and the RLX flagship sedan as the third Acura model to apply our exclusive three-motor Sport Hybrid technology.
Using the instantaneous torque delivery from its three hybrid electric motors, the Sport Hybrid MDX will deliver refined and responsive performance and is expected to receive a 7-mpg increase in its city fuel economy rating versus the all-wheel drive model. Pairing a 3.0-liter V-6 with three electric motors, the MDX Sport Hybrid’s total system output is 325 horsepower, up 35 horsepower from the non-hybrid model. And with electric motor-powered torque vectoring, the Sport Hybrid MDX elevates the Acura Super-Handling dynamic experience with sharpened cornering capability, electrified all-wheel drive power, and dynamic yet efficient braking performance.
In addition, the Sport Hybrid MDX gets a new Active Sport Suspension system that offers improved ride and handling performance. And the new suspension is integrated with IDS (Integrated Dynamics System), which adds a new fourth mode – Sport+ – giving the hybrid MDX an expanded range of customizable performance options.
On top of that, the 2017 MDX will be the first SUV in its class to apply a comprehensive suite of safety and driver assistive technologies as standard equipment on all grades. These are technologies that many in the industry refer to as semi-autonomous. AcuraWatch is available on every Acura model now and will be standard on the 2017 MDX.
Bold, distinctive new styling, increased luxury content and features, standard AcuraWatch technology plus the refined,responsive and efficient performance of Acura Sport Hybrid SH – All Wheel Drive.This is another step forward in our sharpened focus on Acura Performance.
Now, shifting gears a bit, as you know, we are in the process of bringing to market the pinnacle expression of Acura Precision Crafted Performance and the only supercar made in America – the incredible next-generation 2017 Acura NSX. We started taking customer orders last month with the launch of the NSX online configurator, and we’re just weeks away from the start of serial production in late April, at the Performance Manufacturing Center in Ohio, with customer deliveries to follow immediately thereafter.
And the very first one is going to the highest bidder, our very own Acura dealer and renowned race team owner, Rick Hendrick, who is planning to visit our new production facility to watch the NSX he purchased at the Barrett-Jackson auction come down the assembly line.That was a fun night and a great night for charity, with the NSX raising an incredible $1.2 million for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation and music artist Zac Brown’s Camp Southern Ground.
Today, we’re here to tell you that the new NSX isn’t only about to hit American roadways but American raceways. From the beginning, it was part of the NSX design and engineering team’s mandate to create a new experience within the super car segment, a car with amazing on-road and on-track dynamic capabilities but not just that. We also set out to make a world-class racing machine, and today we’re fulfilling that commitment.
So, now, I’m proud to present to you this first look at the Acura NSX GT3 car.
Art St. Cyr – President, Honda Performance Development
Good morning everyone. As John said, this NSX GT3 will fulfill our commitment to go racing with the new NSX.But it’s more than a commitment, it’s part of our “racing spirit” and the Acura brand DNA. Acura has a great legacy of competition in sports car racing that dates back to the early 1990s with three consecutive IMSA Camel Lights driver and manufacturer championships, followed by our first foray into GT racing with the first generation Acura NSX.
A decade ago we began campaigning in the American LeMans series, winning the 2009 driver, manufacturer and team championships in both the LMP1 and LMP2 classes. And today we’re campaigning two Acura TLX GT race cars with our longtime partners, Realtime Racing, in the Pirelli World Challenge.
This new NSX GT3 car carries forward that legacy. Initial development and testing of this NSX GT3 was undertaken by our Japan race-engineering group, with testing on road circuits in Europe, Japan and right here in the U.S. Now, our U.S. race engineers will finish the development in order to achieve FIA GT3 homologation this fall with the intention of racing in North America in 2017.
Consistent with the GT3 formula, this NSX race car will be rear wheel drive with power from the same 75-degree, twin-turbocharged V-6 that powers the production NSX. The production engine was actually designed with GT3 racing in mind. The GT3 race car will utlize the same block, heads, valvetrain, crank and dry sump lubrication system as the production NSX. The addition of motorsports electronics and slight modifications to the exhaust system will allow us to bump up peak output to meet the GT3 performance targets. And the engine will be produced at our Ohio engine plant by the same master builders that are hand assembling the production NSX power unit.
Like the production NSX, this NSX GT3 race car will utilize the same multi-material body and aluminum intensive space frame, which will be produced by the skilled technicians at the Performance Manufacturing Center in Ohio, which is the exclusive global manufacturing facility for all NSX models.
The NSX GT3 is wrapped in the custom bodywork and aero package you see here. To improve aerodynamics and cooling for the racetrack in this GT3 configuration, we’re applying a large rear deck spoiler, larger hood vents and a new underbody diffuser.
Right now, we’re setting our sites on our first full-season campaign in North America starting in 2017.The NSX was designed as a pinnacle expression of Acura’s Precision Crafted Performance, and we’re looking forward to proving out its ultimate track performance capabilities in North American GT3 competition.
We look forward to sharing more details of our NSX race plans in the days ahead including information about teams, drivers and competition series as those plans mature. Now, I’ll ask John to come back up for some closing words.
John Mendel – Executive Vice President, American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
Thanks, Art. That’s an awesome looking machine you guys are building.
And speaking of Precision Crafted Performance, in just three days we will mark the 30th anniversary of the Acura brand. Yes, 30 years since Acura shook up the market as the first luxury brand from a Japanese automaker firmly rooted in the U.S. with the highest reputation for quality and reliability.
And with products that included the first generation NSX, Legend, Integra, and a focus on outstanding customer service, Acura got off to an incredible start. Now, we’re strongly focused on the essential character and DNA of the Acura brand that began three decades ago – Precision Crafted Performance.
We have great momentum with four consecutive years of sales growth, the amazing new NSX supercar and, earlier this year, the Acura Precision Concept, which set the styling direction for this dynamic new MDX and the next generation of Acura products still to come.
Born in America and built in America, Acura stands quite literally as an American brand. Last year, in fact, nearly 98 percent of our Acura cars and light trucks were built at our plants in Ohio and Alabama; with more than half of all the Acura vehicles sold over the past 30 years being made right here in North America.
So, we have a lot to celebrate as part of this 30th anniversary. Please make sure you pick up your 30th anniversary collectible, and you are welcome to join Art and me on stage for a closer look at the 2017 MDX and the NSX GT3 car.