As the first car conceived at the new Acura Design Studio in California, the creation of the Acura ZDX presented a unique opportunity. Rethink the steps by which a vehicle progresses from lines on paper to finished product. Keep what works. Alter what could work better. Streamline some processes and expand others. Designers were given absolute freedom. Collaboration among different fields of expertise was maximized. In the end, the Acura ZDX emerged as the most refined Acura yet and the new benchmark for all Acuras to come.
Automotive design can seem like a closed loop, with manufacturers looking to each other for inspiration and validation. In creating the Acura ZDX, we sought influence beyond the world of automotive luxury. We found it in the fluid roofline of a Japanese sports arena that suggests movement even when standing still. In the blending of disparate materials and technologies in a luxur y hotel in San Francisco. Even the natural staining of the inside of wine barrels found in Napa Valley led to a new color option for the interior leather. It’s why the Acura ZDX is one vehicle that doesn’t look just like every other vehicle.
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During the process of turning ideas into hard, three-dimensional, functioning reality, the designers worked with the engineers every step of the way to ensure that the finished vehicle stayed true to the original sketches. Lines were preserved. Shapes survived. Materials were retained. And you get to experience the rare vehicle that not only started out as a concept, but also ended up as one.
It’s called design integrity: the idea that ever y part should relate in some way to every other part. In shaping the Acura ZDX, a new system was employed in which the interior and exterior were fashioned literally side by side. Lines carved in sheet metal are echoed in those crafted in leather. The feeling the vehicle conveys is the same whether experienced from across the street or from the driver’s seat. And when all the elements work together, the finished product is more than a collection of shapes; it instead becomes a statement.
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The Acura ZDX cockpit was specifically crafted for the weekend escape, with features like heated and available ventilated front seats as well as abundant, hand-selected soft-touch leather supplying the requisite level of comfort. Along with the material richness, what you’ll also notice on your first drive is the ambient noise, or more specifically, the lack of it. A special seven-layer fabric is applied to the underbody of the vehicle to help insulate passengers from road noise and vibration. In addition, the vehicle’s Active Sound Control detects undesirable engine noise and emits opposing frequencies to help cancel it out.
But you shouldn’t get the sense that you’re cut off from the world around. The large panoramic glass roof gives both front and rear passengers abundant natural light, even with the UV-light-filtering sunshade closed. In addition, the available multi-view rear camera can show the driver three different angles of what’s behind, including a top-down view to help in parking. The available blind spot information system can help detect vehicles, both large and small, that are out of the driver’s field of vision.
To make the panoramic glass roof possible, a step in the assembly line had to be rethought. The sheer size of the piece made traditional manufacturing approaches impossible and required a new “top-down” process to carefully position the glass in place. When you experience the sense of openness the roof provides both front and rear passengers, you’ll agree, it was a step well worth taking.
Much of the Acura ZDX’s athletic appearance is the result of its deep rear fenders. They not only contribute to the vehicle’s bold stance but also allow the lines running down the side to converge at the rear, as if they were being pulled back taut. Creating the fenders required a deeper draw of sheet metal than on almost any other vehicle in production and necessitated the development of new manufacturing processes to help the metal slip cleanly from the die. The single-piece construction was crucial in retaining the fluid, seamless nature of the original design.
Modern art. Traditional craft. Unlike the leather found in most luxury vehicles, the natural grain isn’t buffed to correct defects. Instead, each piece is carefully selected to ensure quality while retaining its natural grain. Covering the complex shapes of the dash and console created its own challenges. So, we traveled to Papa, Hungar y, to work with world-renowned leather craftsmen. Together, we developed a method for hand-fitting and -stitching the pieces together. The care that went into the creation of the leather dash is typical of the attention to detail ref lected throughout the Acura ZDX cabin.
Instead of equating luxury with isolation, we labored to give the Acura ZDX driver a more visceral experience. In addition to its all-weather capability, Acura’s exclusive Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) also inspires confidence through the curves. Sensing where extra torque is needed to keep you on your chosen line, it can distribute power between the front and the rear wheels, and send up to 100% of available rear power to the outside wheel, which is then rotated slightly faster. Together, these forces give the ZDX a big boost in turning power and more precise steering response.