Type-S (Almost) All the Things: Acura's 2022 Product Line Leaked [UPDATED]

Tim Healey
by Tim Healey

Slides from an Acura dealer webinar have leaked onto the Internet, and Acura fans, take note.

While almost anything on Reddit needs to be approached with a reasonably skeptical eye – do you really think all those posts on r/relationships are real? – there are a few news nuggets to mine here.

First of all, almost all the models in the lineup, save the RDX and NSX, appear to be getting a spicier Type-S trim. That’s no shock with the NSX, since that supercar is already hot enough, but it’s mildly surprising in terms of the RDX, given the relative sportiness of Acura’s crossovers. Especially since the other crossover, the MDX, will get the Type-S treatment.

So that means the TLX and MDX will get Type-S trims, along with the “New Compact Sedan”. The MDX and New Compact Sedan will follow the TLX in the launch order. The RDX and NSX aren’t listed before 2022.

Wait, what? No ILX?

Well, we don’t know. The lack of ILX nomenclature could mean a change in name, and speculation is rampant that the Integra name could return. That could revive interest in the brand – not everyone loves alphanumeric nomenclature. Then again, whatever problems Acura may or may not have probably run deeper than just the brand’s naming convention. Too many sedans and not enough crossovers, for one thing, could be an issue. Even with the RLX now pining for the fjords.

There’s still no crossover smaller than RDX or larger than MDX on offer, you’ll notice. The webinar can be seen here.

The ILX has been mostly an afterthought over its lifetime, even though the car once offered a base powertrain that including a manual. That particular car was a blast to drive, but not luxurious enough for the brand and not as dedicated to performance as the Integra and later, the RSX.

Update: Acura has responded. A PR man points out that ILX sales increased about 30 percent year-over-year from 2018 to 2019 ( GoodCarBadCar backs this up) and that it has a 24.6 percent market share in its segment, a nearly 6 point gain. However, GCBC’s analysis of the ILX is as grim as what I wrote. So check out the numbers and decide for yourself. To me, the point here isn’t if the ILX is selling well or not. Rather, it’s about the planned replacement and how that could be a new Integra or RSX.

Either name could come back, or perhaps the ILX moniker will return after all. All we know is that there will be some sort of compact sedan bearing Acura badging with a Type-S option box to check.

As for the Type-S hi-po trims, here’s the background. The Type-S concept previewed the just-shown 2021 TLX, and the Type-S version is slated to have a 3.0-liter V6 that likely makes north of 300 horsepower, along with all-wheel drive.

This lineup overall will be complete by 2022. We’ve already seen the 2021 TLX, so we know that as Jerry Seinfeld once told an unfortunate immigrant restauranteur, wheels are in motion.

We don’t have specs or other details yet. We’ve reached out to Acura for comment but have not heard back by press time.

Stay tuned. With the Detroit and New York auto shows binned for this year and L.A. an uncertainty, it’s hard to predict when the covers may lift. Virtual reveals could happen, too, thanks to COVID-19.

Either way, the Acura lineup just got a lot spicier, at least on paper. And every Integra fanboy/fangirl just fainted.

Not to deepen the vapors, but what if the new compact, or at least a version of it, ends up being an Acura version of the beloved Honda Civic Type R?

Take a breath to collect yourself.

A lineup full of Type-S trims and a strong entry in the compact class could be just the booster shot the doctor ordered.

H/t to contributor Chris Tonn

[Image: Acura]

Tim Healey
Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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  • FreedMike FreedMike on Jun 03, 2020

    Say what you will about CUVs taking over the market, but at least Acura is trying to make theirs interesting. I give them (qualified) props.

  • Dougjp Dougjp on Jun 03, 2020

    The ILX should have been given a real motor 5 - 10 years ago. Even comatose people got the (lack of) picture 2 - 3 years ago or much more. They had a motor(s) all this time. And yet they did nothing? So was it intentional that the ILX doesn't appear now? Likely. Steer clear of this brand.

  • Ronin It's one thing to stay tried and true to loyal past customers; you'll ensure a stream of revenue from your installed base- maybe every several years or so.It's another to attract net-new customers, who are dazzled by so many other attractive offerings that have more cargo capacity than that high-floored 4-Runner bed, and are not so scrunched in scrunchy front seats.Like with the FJ Cruiser: don't bother to update it, thereby saving money while explaining customers like it that way, all the way into oblivion. Not recognizing some customers like to actually have right rear visibility in their SUVs.
  • MaintenanceCosts It's not a Benz or a Jag / it's a 5-0 with a rag /And I don't wanna brag / but I could never be stag
  • 3-On-The-Tree Son has a 2016 Mustang GT 5.0 and I have a 2009 C6 Corvette LS3 6spd. And on paper they are pretty close.
  • 3-On-The-Tree Same as the Land Cruiser, emissions. I have a 1985 FJ60 Land Cruiser and it’s a beast off-roading.
  • CanadaCraig I would like for this anniversary special to be a bare-bones Plain-Jane model offered in Dynasty Green and Vintage Burgundy.
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