Acura has announced that it is planning to bring back the Type-S performance badge, and is bringing the A-Spec sport styling trim to all new Acuras.
The Type-S badge debuted with the Acura RSX, in 2002. It was a step below the Japan-only Integra Type R that was a stripped-down, lightweight, high-performance sports coupe. The Type-S still offered 40 hp more than the base RSX, along with other performance changes. It kept the luxury features that Acura buyers expected but buyers of the Japanese market Honda-badged Integra did not.
The last Type-S was the 2010 CSX. It was an Acura version of the Civic Si that used a 197 hp inline four with a six-speed manual. Again, it was a more luxurious Si.
Now Acura is bringing the badge back. They aren't saying which cars will get the badge, or when, but that it will be on multiple Acuras in the future.
The A-Spec badge returned to the TLX in 2017. It added more sporting looks inside and out, including black exterior chrome and heavily bolstered seats inside. Sales of the A-Spec went well, so Acura will be expanding the trim line to all of their core models. That includes an A-Spec version of the 2019 RDX that will arrive with the rest of the all-new RDX lineup in the middle of this year.
Finally, Acura is also planning a new turbocharged V6 that will be used in high-performance models. That engine will make it into multiple Acura products, but not Hondas. The company hasn't said yet which vehicles will see it, but that it will be paired with Acura's Super Handling all-wheel drive.
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