NealX
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Jeff and I had an exchange about some minor alterations we'd like to see, so we put together this new image. From the front:
1. Lowered hood w/leading edge moved forward.
2. More aggressive, rearward angle to grille.
3. Upgraded wheel and brake package.
4. Front axle moved forward 3 inches.
5. Subtly-flared rocker panel trim.
6. Rear passenger compartment extended 2 inches.
7. Crease in bodywork extended through the rear door terminating under gas cap.
8. Gas cap moved rearward 1 inch.
9. Rear overhang beyond taillights reduced 2 inches w/slightly shortened rear deck.
10. Satin-finish door handle and window trim.
11. TOV signature, "Boy-Racer Red Mica" - hand polished ;-)
Enjoy!
Last edited by NealX on 04-05-2012 15:22
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DCR
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If you keep tinkering with God's creations, you are going to be struck dead.
Amazing how my eyes can actually see a car with those awful concept wheels gone. These changes really make it look RWD.
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NealX
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Beauty in the eye
Rendered upon a prayer card
Twisting in the wind...
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Mr. Taggart
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muy bueno!
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NickDC5
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You know, one of the first comments I saw on Autoblog for the RLX concept car was "It still has a FWD front." And that's pretty much dead-on.
Just design a new stinking platform already, Honda. You're wasting capital trying to engineer, and design, and market around an Accord.
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Powered by Honda
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I now see less honda way more bmw in it now. This could pass as the next 7 if it was same size. I like how you extended the crease passed the rear door.
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revvin
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thank you for moving the front wheels closer to the front corners of the car. overhang is a killer.
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A77
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It looks smaller and better proportioned - I just don't thing the reduced front over hang is possible - sadly. Nor the lowered hoodline (ACE). Would make a wonderful Accord...or TL.
Thought you might just redo the RLX with sensible wheels and a decent colour?
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TonyEX
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Neal wrote:
Jeff expressed some minor alterations he'd like to see, so we put together this new image. From the front:
1. Lowered hood w/leading edge moved forward.
2. More aggressive, rearward angle to grill.
3. Upgraded wheel and brake package.
4. Front axle moved forward 3 inches.
5. Subtly-flared rocker panel trim.
6. Rear passenger compartment extended 2 inches.
7. Crease in bodywork extended through the rear door terminating under gas cap.
8. Gas cap moved rearward 1 inch.
9. Rear overhang beyond taillights reduced 2 inches w/slightly shortened rear deck.
10. Satin-finish door handle and window trim.
11. TOV signature, "Boy-Racer Red Mica" - hand polished ;-)
Enjoy!
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Other than the wheelbase and length modifications everything else should be easily accomplished in the MMC.
Now, go do the front and rear... because those pictures are going to be hanging at HMC and AHM design studios for the MMC.
Outstanding work.. and yes, the stretch makes a ton of sense. This is after all the top of the line car and a nice back seat makes it useful for the CEO/CFO. The perfect car to be chauffeured in to the Board meeting when the roads are icy and snowy.
Perhaps a LWB should be considered... add 4/5 inches to the cabin.
And a turbo with Typo Tesla motors will be needed to power the armored version.
Oh! IMHO the wheels still need to be tamed a little. The top dog car should offer a set of nicely polished gun metal gray wheels and come in a dark gun metallic grey with chrome accents trim. Hand rubbed by some hourly lackey in the corporate garage, of course.
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integrator
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hahaha Neal - at it again! [:) !!! ]
I wonder if the car would look more windswept and active if the fender accent line continued past the gas cap but parallel to the under-window crease... all the way back to the tail lamps. But then have the lower-door accent line rise a bit more as it heads to the bumper. The other thing, which is hard to see in this 2D side pic, is the rake of the headlights as they progress to the sides. I would have loved to see the headlights recess more into the bodywork to make the front rounder above the top bumper line, in order to emphasize the aero look and make the new grill more large-ship's prow-like...or torpedo tipped.
Taillights - finally new lighting techniques. But the rear is still just a bad rehash of other vehicles. A More ILX-inspired would have been nice. This does look a little old Toyota Avalon in the keister.
Just my thoughts..??? for what they're worth.
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according2kev
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Neal that looks awesome! The 3 inch movement of the front axle is just what this car needs and so does some other cars in the H/A line-up... Accord, TL, TSX I'm looking at you. I don't know why Honda can't do this. Is it because of ACE? In case of the Accord, it seems after the 1993 model the front wheel was pushed farther towards the door with each generation.
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NickDC5
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according2kev wrote:
Neal that looks awesome! The 3 inch movement of the front axle is just what this car needs and so does some other cars in the H/A line-up... Accord, TL, TSX I'm looking at you. I don't know why Honda can't do this. Is it because of ACE? In case of the Accord, it seems after the 1993 model the front wheel was pushed farther towards the door with each generation.
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It's because the engine sits beside the transmission, which is on top of the drive wheels (the front wheels).
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ciwai08
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Sweet. A bit closer to what I was somewhat hoping/expecting as far as cowl/front axle proportions......only I've long since lost the wherewithal to hope or expect anything from honda these days.
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NealX
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Thanks! Guess I'll have to get around to making a wagon (er, Estate) version sometime...
Maybe this would be a good candidate for that "Shooting Brake" thing.
Last edited by NealX on 04-05-2012 16:31
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TonyEX
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Neal wrote:
Thanks! Guess I'll have to get around to making a wagon (er, Estate) version sometime...
Maybe this would be a good candidate for that "Shooting Brake" thing.
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No.
Just SWB and LWB sedans...
Perhaps a SWB "Coupe" sedan like the Benz CLS.
But no wagons.. not for the flagship.. that's plebeian.
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DCR
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I vote for a coupe as well. Something to rival an M-Series.
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DevilMayCry
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DCR wrote:
I vote for a coupe as well. Something to rival an M-Series.
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Hey mon ami, haven't seen your comments(thoughts) on the RLX yet.
Since your opinions carries a lot of weight 'round here, what's your thought on the new design?
IMHO, it's not a HR. So is it a double or a triple?
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ams23
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Just changing the wheels and color alone makes soooo much difference. Really looks much better than the original concept photo.
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Hondu
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ams23 wrote:
Just changing the wheels and color alone makes soooo much difference. Really looks much better than the original concept photo.
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+1. I would like to see it in black and white as well. The red looks awesome though.
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CarPhreakD
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I'm glad that Acura decided to extend the wheelbase and cut the overhangs... but moving the axle forward 3" is a really tall order for powertrain packaging. Unless of course, Acura really exploits a longitudinal layout...
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Mansa
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Reminds me of the Pontiac G8. How about photoshopping those wheels on the original concept?
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HONDA AFVM
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Neal wrote:
Thanks! Guess I'll have to get around to making a wagon (er, Estate) version sometime...
Maybe this would be a good candidate for that "Shooting Brake" thing.
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Neal, Could you put the concept car directly under your creation so we can see the difference...........I mean I can see it, but I would like to compare it........
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JeffX
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HONDA AFVM wrote:
Neal wrote:
Thanks! Guess I'll have to get around to making a wagon (er, Estate) version sometime...
Maybe this would be a good candidate for that "Shooting Brake" thing.
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Neal, Could you put the concept car directly under your creation so we can see the difference...........I mean I can see it, but I would like to compare it........
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Here's a quick knockup. Scale may be slightly off since it didn't come directly from Neal.
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key123
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Pushing the axle forward ( even by a couple inches as demonstrated by Neal's work) really helps improve the proportions and look of the vehicle.
It would have been nice if they were able to do this for the flagship.
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DavidJ
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How difficult would it be, from a technical point of view, to move the front axle 3 inches forward like in your drawing? (And maintain the FWD architecture)
It does wonders to the aesthetics.
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montechester
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Neal wrote:
Maybe this would be a good candidate for that "Shooting Brake" thing.
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I love my S2000 for fun driving, but for a daily/practical car, the Wagon'esque, Shooting Brake is my favorite design. I'd enjoy seeing your take on a RLX or 2013 Accord wagon/hatch. As always, excellent work, great imagination and execution.
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owequitit
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according2kev wrote:
Neal that looks awesome! The 3 inch movement of the front axle is just what this car needs and so does some other cars in the H/A line-up... Accord, TL, TSX I'm looking at you. I don't know why Honda can't do this. Is it because of ACE? In case of the Accord, it seems after the 1993 model the front wheel was pushed farther towards the door with each generation.
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The first contributing factor is crash standards. Because the powertrain sits in front of the wheels, most of the crush space provided in an accident has to be ahead of that, which automatically renders it ahead of the wheels.
The second major contributor is the V6 powertrain mounted transversely. Since the block is slightly wider than the 4 bangers, and also sits entirely in front of the axle line, then more engine compartment must be located forward of the axle line.
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danielgr
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DavidJ wrote:
How difficult would it be, from a technical point of view, to move the front axle 3 inches forward like in your drawing? (And maintain the FWD architecture)
It does wonders to the aesthetics.
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In the real world nobody would notice such difference, and as you can tell from the CGI video already, everything changes while moving.
Personally I think most people here are missing the point of a flagship sedan, and really, I've never found any competitor "strickingly beautiful". These cars aren't meant to be "beautiful", they are meant to exhale "expensiveness", being "elegant" without being "overly aggressive". This is the kind of car a business owner drives to get respect from their employees and clients, not something one drives to get noticed around.
Again, IMHO this car addresses rather well (sure anything can always been done better) the main problems with the old one:
- drivetrain tech (SH-AWD was good but offered little or nothing to most owners, and the J35/J37 were always pretty short on the super-sedan league).
- lack of ontheroad presence. The current RL was one of Honda's most conservative and boring designs ever, but that was not the problem, the problem is that when looking one in the road you'd never figure out it's a 50K+ car (if you dare look inside though you'd be greated with such a car, but noone could have tell from the outside).
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owequitit
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DavidJ wrote:
How difficult would it be, from a technical point of view, to move the front axle 3 inches forward like in your drawing? (And maintain the FWD architecture)
It does wonders to the aesthetics.
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Theoretically, Honda could do it by rotating the powertrain 180* to put the differential in front of the engine block instead of at the rear, where it is currently located. Or they could just move the diff to the other side of the tranny, which would accomplish the same thing. There might be a few engineering hurdles to clear in terms of packaging and torque management, but if Honda can't clear those, they should exit the business.
That would allow them to still share a lot of componentry and layout technology with lesser cars, while improving weight distribution and not really affecting the ability to package said lesser cars, where they could put the diff back in the rear if they wanted. Wouldn't require more than a change of tranny (the 7 speed DSG is apparently Acura exclusive anyway).
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NealX
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Below are a couple of images: the concept comparisons to scale (a little effort changes Zero to Hero) and RLX vs. RL assuming an increase in wheelbase of 2 inches. The red graft is because there are no current RL images of high quality.
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