Acura has released a teaser image showing off the shape of a third-generation RDX compact crossover, which the company will reveal in production form next month at the Detroit auto show.
According to Automotive News, the 2019 RDX will ride on a platform exclusive to the Acura brand -- the current model shares underpinnings with various Honda models -- and will be the first to be developed entirely in North America.
Our first look at Acura's latest design reveals the universal truth that there's only so much you can do with the shape of a crossover without limiting its utility. Still, this looks like a significant remake that incorporates a more dramatic D-pillar, a new, upswept belt-line and front light assemblies whose shape follows a character line that runs into the front door.
Those character lines are a nod to the Acura Precision Concept, revealed a year ago at the 2017 Detroit show.
But we spot at least one familiar element, that being the cutline of the hood where it juts up at the base of the A-pillar, as on the current 2018 RDX.
We won't know anything about the RDX's mechanical makeup until the cover comes off the crossover in Detroit, but we'll be watching to see whether Acura reverts to turbo power for this latest model. The first-generation 2007 Acura RDX was ahead of its time in using a turbo four-cylinder, which it switched out for a V6 in the second-gen model -- just as competitors switched to turbo fours in a bid to cut fuel consumption.
The new RDX will be revealed prior to the 2018 North American International (Detroit) Auto Show's public opening on January 20.
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