Acura this week unveiled a chunky new electric vehicle concept that appears to have been inspired by the shape of luxury Italian powerboats.
The Acura Precision EV concept, teased earlier this month, represents the company’s “North Star” for the direction of its future EVs and focuses on a “modern expression of performance,” according to Acura creative director Dave Marek.
The grille area lights up in an aqua blue “diamond pentagon” pattern around the centered Acura logo, while the lower ends of the bezel light up in a prismatic “particle glitch” tessellation that continues the texture on the 23-inch wheels.
Acura doesn’t lie—this is a boat. Image: Acura
The Precision EV has a broad “athletic stance” developed by Acura’s LA design studio. It comes in a matte “Double Apex Blue” finish and has a stealth roof on its round body that actually makes you think of a speedboat. Acura hasn’t released much in terms of specs, including electric range, speed, or battery pack size – although one might assume there’s plenty of room in this hull for extra cells.
The interior is inspired by an F1 racing cockpit, placing the driver in a lower position with race car-style digital instrumentation. And of course, no EV concept is complete without a yoke steering wheel – but time will tell if Acura is brave enough to ship one like Tesla or Lexus with the upcoming RZ 450e.
The interior glows in red ambience for Instinctive Drive mode when you’re looking to battle the road’s waves, and it turns ocean blue with an underwater-like animated projection for stationary Spiritual Lounge mode – complete with “soothing scents.” “. ‘, which could mean you have to load essential oils into the car somewhere.
Acura’s design is another example of electric vehicles moving away from bulbous and cartoonish designs (think BMW i3). Instead, we see lighting effects as the new EV signature, for example in production cars like the Cadillac Lyriq. We’re also seeing EVs with comfort pod-style interiors like the Hyundai Ioniq 6, underscoring that EVs can be inhabited without an idle engine polluting the air around you.
The automaker also tries to be environmentally conscious with its materials: use of recycled plastic, responsibly sourced wood and leather made from 100 percent biomass. Acura’s parent company, Honda, plans to build exclusively electric vehicles by 2040, with a shorter-term plan to make EVs and fuel cell vehicles 40 percent of its total global production lineup.
The Acura Precision EV concept makes its public debut today at The Quail, a motorsport event, and will also be showcased at Sunday’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Expect a production electric SUV from Acura based on this concept in 2024.