Acura's Nexera Vision Forecasts What Comes NextJohn Pearley HuffmanAcura was truly novel when it launched in 1986—an upscale brand from a Japanese manufacturer. Honda had beaten both Toyota and Nissan to the punch by about four years. And the two cars that launched Acura—the small Integra and the bigger Legend—were recognizably premium products. The Integra was a classier Civic with a snazzy twin-cam, 16-valve engine, and the Legend was a large sedan with a V-6 so creamy -smooth it could have been lubricated with cholesterol. Acura was distinctive, instantly aspirational, and oh-so cool.Now, 40 years later, not so much.The Nexera Vision concept car, which debuts on Thursday, is Acura's next thematic reinvention of itself. It doesn't directly preview any future production model, but the division's new creative director and vice president of auto design Yasutake Tsuchida does claim that it is "serving as the design language for future Acura models."Practical? Nah.MIROAcura is first showing the Nexera Vision in person at The Quail, a Motorsports Gathering this Friday, August 14, as California's Monterey Car Week strides into the weekend. Alas, it does not foreshadow a revival of the NSX. At a preview event at Honda's headquarters in Torrance, Acura showed the Nexera Vision to some of us press dweebs alongside a clay model of an upcoming hybrid SUV—and if that SUV isn't the next RDX, all our accumulated dweebishness will have been for naught. (The SUV had been shown back in May, so no surprises there.)While Acura describes the paint as "matte," it's really more subtle than that. It's somewhere between satin and velvet.John Pearley Huffman"We're the first Japanese luxury company in America," Tsuchida explains, "and we've always sold in North America, but the design language is still rooted in our Japanese culture." The design itself, however, comes out of Acura's Los Angeles studio. As of press time, Los Angeles was still in America.AdvertisementAdvertisementFinished in a velveteen silver (called "Matte Titanium," but it's really an almost satin-y finish), with a prow almost scraping the pavement and a nose that opens with nostrils indifferent to any powertrain cooling, the Nexera has a certain attitudinal presence that Acura needs to cultivate. One styling element surely destined for production is the use of Acura's "A-Mark" of pointy triangles arranged together. The Nexera uses those A-Marks at all four corners of the vehicle. That's going to be a signature on future Acuras.The familiar Acura log will gain prominence as the "A-Mark" becomes a design element.John Pearley HuffmanOther elements of this concept are familiar, and others still are subtle. The "dual-hinge butterfly" doors are Lambo-adjacent, while the proportions have a lascivious languor to them—lascivious being the provocative sweep of the enormous windshield, and languor coming as a long wheelbase that pushes out even further than that massive piece of glass's leading edge. There's an active aero rear spoiler in back, though this concept isn't likely to ever be tested at any speed that would make it effective.As a concept, the Nexera doesn't have to deal with pesky things like cooling. It's about expressing design ambitions, not reality.John Pearley HuffmanAmong the more compelling aspects of the design is the use of "forged carbon" trim pieces that result from a compression molding process. However, the concept doesn't use carbon fiber as structure.The Nexera's interior features seats molded into the structure. Also, yuck, a yoke.John Pearley HuffmanOn the inside, the look is more fanciful. The seats are molded into the floor and fixed there so the driver's and passenger's coccyges sit down low, to further lower the theoretical center of gravity. Instrumentation is a single sweep of digital stuff, and steering is handled by a yoke. Just say no to yokes.The use of the A-Mark continues onto the Nexera's pedals.John Pearley HuffmanAdvertisementAdvertisementThere's little in the way of detail about the powerplant or drivetrain in the Nexera. So, speculate away, or don't think about it. Your choice.Just across the room from the Nexera Vision is a clay model of, wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say-no-more, the upcoming RDX Hybrid. Featuring the first use of Acura's soon-to-be ubiquitous A-Mark taillights, it's a handsome brute that seems larger than the three previous RDX generations. It also clearly breaks from current Acura themes by moving from a giant diamond-shaped maw in front toa heavily sculpted front fascia with gloss black and body color elements. It looks contemporary and well tailored, what with its Rita Hayworth hips and proud Anna Nicole Smith tail.No details—including any admission that this is, in fact, the next RDX—were offered. Beyond, that is, the fact that this SUV is a hybrid. With luck, the hybrid drivetrain will be as sweet and compelling as the turbocharged K-Series 2.0-liter four used in the third-generation RDX. And there's no charging door on the model, which likely means it's not a plug-in hybrid.Acura isn't saying it, but this has to be the next RDX.John Pearley HuffmanInterestingly, Acura will begin selling the Integra Type S—American-made and still left-hand drive—in Japan later this year. The Type S was a Road & Track Performance Car of the Year contender back in 2024, and is still beloved amongst the staff. If Japan loves it, maybe that will embolden Honda to bring some of that car's confident audacity and athletic vibe to all future Acuras.John Pearley HuffmanThe world doesn't need another Lexus; it needs an authentically bold Acura that extends Honda's tradition of outstanding mechanical engagement. Let's hope that the Nexera Vision's design themes will help the company express that.You Might Also LikeIf You Can Only Own One Car, Make It One of TheseThese Are the Most Popular Cars by State