Acura confirmed the return of the V6 Turbo and Type S trim levels (along with some other details) which means the TLX will become a straight up beast of a sedan.

Earlier last year I reported that thanks to a couple of smart cookies over at Temple of VTEC, it looked like Acura was cooking up a bespoke V6 Turbo by Acura and only for Acuras. According to Honda News in an official press release, they dropped earlier today (Jan 15, 2018) Acura confirmed that not only do they have a V6 turbo in the works, it will only be for Acura models, and they’re bringing back the Type S as well.

According to Honda,

Building on the direction set forth by the the twin-turbocharged V6-powered NSX supercar, Acura will introduce a new V6 turbo powerplant. The new high-performance powerplant will be exclusive to the Acura lineup and will be paired with the latest generation of Acura Super Handling All-Wheel Drive™ (SH-AWD®), which is launching in the new 2019 RDX. The new Acura Turbo V6 will make its way into multiple products in the years ahead.

First, it’s refreshing to see that Acura’s halo car is actually setting some direction for the rest of the lineup. Acura’s SH-AWD system is among the best in the industry when it comes to torque vectoring in tricky situations so I’ll be keen to see how they’ve further improved it. Then there’s that V6 Turbo which will find it stuffed into multiple applications.

It goes without saying, but the new V6 Turbo will obviously be faster, lighter, and more fuel efficient than the J35Y6, the latest and greatest iteration of the J-series engine.

In the 2018 Acura TLX, the J35 puts out a generous 290 HP and 267 lb-ft which is presumably the peak at which Acura’s engineers feel comfortable pushing this V6 to keep reliability at Honda levels. MPG comes in at 24 combined.

Add on to this news that Acura is bringing back the Type S,

In addition, as part of its strengthening commitment to performance, Acura will bring back the much-heralded Type-S performance variant in the coming years. The Type-S badge last appeared on the 2008 Acura TL, which featured a track-tuned chassis, more powerful engine and brakes, high-performance tires and extensive, sports-oriented exterior and interior modifications. Like the new engine, the Type-S badge will make its way onto multiple Acura models in the future.

…and you have the ingredients for Acura’s best sedan ever, the 2020 Acura TLX Type S SH-AWD model.

Here’s my prediction for this awesome sedan. Acura will offer four trim levels for TLX; base, V6 Turbo, V6 Turbo A-Spec and V6 Type S. The V6 Turbo will put out something like 325 HP and 350 lb-ft, a true barn burner of an engine. But the Type S, like Type S models of yesteryear, will push that power level to a healthy 350 HP and 380 lb-ft thanks to a bit more turbo, a better exhaust, and ECU tweaks. In addition, the 2020 Acura TLX Type S SH-AWD will get better brakes and NSX inspired dynamic suspension.

The 2008 Acura TL Type S was lovingly referred to as the E39 of Japan. Will the 2020 Acura TLX Type S SH-AWD be a 2020 BMW 5-series beater? I’m betting that Acura will benchmark the 5-series.

It’ll turn out to be the best Acura sedan they’ve made yet.

15 COMMENTS

  1. I sure hope it finds its way into the honda ridgeline.a ridgeline that can run high 13 s thru the quarter and o to 60 times in the high 5.s.now that’s a truck

  2. I do not agree with your assumptions on models.

    If they Kill the RLX this may change, but I suspect

    Base 2.0T like 19 RDX
    Tech and Aspec 2.0T like 19 RDX with SH-AWD available
    Advance V6 maybe with Turbo ~300HP with SH-AWD available if RLX is dead if RLX is refreshed to 4G then I suspect this gets I4 Turbo with SH-AWD option
    Type-S V6 Turbo ~330-350HP SH-AWD only

  3. I dunno, the k24 will be hard to kill and seeing how honda likes to keep the acura brand unnecessarily complicated, I wouldnt put it past them to retain the k24 as an RLX exclusive and throw the k20c4 turbo on it. They’ll prolly throw the RDX setup in the 4 cyl TLX models and call it a day, and that turbo adds 90ish hp once it drags itself to 4k, so following that (basic) math the j35 with a similar setup should push close to 400, I’d say 375 crank with the awd after a thorough re-tune, and only available on the type-s which in turn will most likely be exclusively SH-AWD. They’ll prolly retain the j35 N/A for the Advance/Elite trims and use the turbo V6 as the type s, awd exclusive. They use the j30 in the hybrid MDX currently so if they’re smart (spoiler- they’re not) they’ll dump the j35 and use the j30 /hybrid/ setup for non-turbo TLX models with V6. As for the RLX, I’m thinking they’ll slap a turbo on the k24, keep that for the tech/2wd trim, then use the j30 hybrid from the YD7 MDX for the advance/awd model. Either way the ILX is screwed, so they should use the Type-R motor and start calling it the integra again in hopes that people will care about it.

    This is an extremely frustrating brand to work for, and I spend most of my commute home looking somberly towards the sunset hoping that Ikeda lifts enough at the gym to pull all this dead weight out of the ground and turn it into something marketable again…

  8. I am not sure if this is useful to anyone, but I know a senior technician ay my Acura dealership. He confirmed The TLX is currently testing on Nürburgring and its numbers are beating the M3. The TLX Type-S will have over 400HP. The first two model to get the Type-S are TLX and MDX. I already have an MDX, but I have not made my mind to keep my mine and get the TLX Type-S or just upgrade the MDX which I love.

    • Thank you for this. I may just make an entirely new article based on your comment. =) That’s wonderful to hear and I’m glad they’re benchmarking the BMW.

  10. Acura desperately needs to amp up the performance levels of their vehicles if they want to maintain market share and customer loyalty. I’ve owned several RSX & TL Type S’s over the years and they were very good cars, so hopefully there will be a TLX Type S parked in my garage in the not too distant future…to keep my MDX Sport Hybrid company.

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