Acura is celebrating its 40th anniversary at Monterey Car Week with a sharp two-seat sports car named the Nexera Vision. The bad news arrives fast, as the concept isn’t headed for a showroom. Instead, it previews where the brand’s design is going, and its influence will surface on future products including the upcoming RDX Hybrid SUV.

The concept plants itself with an aggressive stance, a long hood falling away toward a low, sharp nose. Its bodywork wears a Matte Titanium finish that puts the clean surfacing along the profile on full display, and that surfacing owes its tension to a generous dash-to-axle ratio,

More: Acura Plans A Bigger SUV Than The MDX And Is Calling It The XL

The exterior’s headline act is the new phantom lighting signature, with LED headlights and taillights that stay hidden until they’re switched on. The V-shaped units draw from the Acura emblem and will reach production vehicles soon, beginning with the next-gen RDX Hybrid. Acura fans have already seen these lights on the recent Acura Hybrid SUV Prototype, which previews the production RDX.

Acura

The rest of the exterior keeps pace with large dual-hinge butterfly doors, an aerodynamic greenhouse, air channels on the nose, an active rear spoiler and a forged carbon bodykit. The six-spoke 22-inch center-lock wheels use a 3D directional design and pair a matte anodized finish with forged carbon inserts and Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes.

More: Acura’s 1980s Retro Dealership Is A Better Ad Than Anything It’s Running Now

The interior was designed to be futuristic, minimalist, and sustainable. Rather than lean on screens, Acura went with a curved digital instrument cluster behind the yoke-shaped steering wheel. The goal was to eliminate distractions, evoking memories of the Honda S2000.

To reach the lowest possible seating position, the bucket seats are fixed to the floor, so the driver moves the steering wheel and pedal box instead. The cabin runs a black-and-white theme with pink accents. On materials, Acura used CircuLeather upholstery that claims a lower carbon footprint, plus Alcantara made from post-consumer recycled polyester, recycled aluminum, and forged carbon details.

The concept came out of the Acura Design California studio in Los Angeles. Yasutake Tsuchida, Acura Creative Director and Vice President of Auto Design, who oversaw the project, said:

“Our goal with this new design direction is to define Acura performance through disciplined proportions, sculpted form and the seamless integration of advanced technology, creating an expression that is both progressive and authentic to the brand.”

More: Acura Is Going All-In On Hybrids, Honda Is Keeping Gas Cars Affordable

Tsuchida added that the Nexera Vision “sets the course for the next generation of Acura design, and we are committed to evolving that direction with clarity, consistency and purpose across future Acura products.”

Acura shared nothing about what powers the concept. The packaging, though, hints at a fully electric powertrain.

More: Honda Took A $16 Billion Bath On EVs, So Now Wants More EVs On A Platform That Can Switch Sides

The Acura Nexera Vision makes its public debut at The Quail on August 14, then appears at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Concept Lawn on August 16.

Acura

The company doesn’t mention plans to turn the concept into a production car, though it says that elements of its exterior and interior will reach the future Acura lineup soon. A warm public reaction could still push it toward development.

The Nexera Vision continues a line of two-door sports car concepts from Acura, including the HSC (Honda Sports Concept) from 2004, the Acura Advanced Sports Car Concept from 2007, and the NSX Concept from 2012, which evolved into the hybrid production supercar of the same name.

Acura

Some cars spend their first 110 miles (177 km) gently running errands and getting photographed by their excited new owners. This Rivian R2 took a rather different path. Barely out of the wrapper, the electric SUV has already been crashed and is now waiting for a new home through a salvage auction.

Rivian only opened the R2 configurator on its retail site at the end of May, and strong demand means anyone joining the queue for a new one today won’t receive it until 2027. But somehow this R2 has already been delivered, driven, bent and left in a dusty lot while it waits for a second owner to rescue it.

Related: Bad News Rivian Flippers, A Day One Holder’s R2 Cleared Sticker By Just $2,015

The Launch Green SUV’s passenger-side front fender has taken the obvious hit. It’s crumpled inward, exposing a cracked fender liner, while the outer wheel arch trim has detached and is dangling rather sadly on the ground next to the 21-inch wheel.

IAA

At first glance, it doesn’t look catastrophic. The damage appears concentrated around the fender rather than extending into the passenger door, potentially making this seem like an easy repair and a sneaky way into an R2 without joining the backlog. Unfortunately, there are a couple of reasons not to start celebrating just yet.

First, the IAA auction listing identifies suspension damage as a secondary issue, suggesting there’s more going on underneath than the photos immediately reveal. And the photos show multiple airbags have deployed. Second, experience with the larger R1S has shown that damaged Rivians can generate repair bills rather more intimidating than you might expect from similarly bruised mainstream Ford or Chevy SUVs.

656 HP And AWD

IAA

But it could still be worth the effort. This must be an R2 Performance Launch Package, currently the only version Rivian is delivering. It starts at $57,990, with slower, more affordable variants coming later this year and then in 2027.

That $58k gets you dual-motor all-wheel drive developing 656 hp (489 kW / 665 PS) and 609 lb-ft (825 Nm) of torque. Rivian says it’ll rocket from 0–60 mph (96 km/h) in 3.6 seconds while delivering 330 miles (531 km) of range. We just hope the owner (presuming this wasn’t a demo car) got to experience that punch at least once before they wrecked it. Although you have to consider that maybe trying that 656 hp out is why it now looks like it does.

IAA

Mazda has spent decades proving sports cars don’t need enormous muscle to be fun. They just need to be light, and that means EV power is out. Now one of those rules is about to change. CEO Masahiro Moro has confirmed the next MX-5, codenamed NE, is being prepared for electric power, and somehow Mazda thinks it can keep the little roadster seriously light.

Related: Mazda’s New Sports Car Patents Show Butterfly Doors And No Rotary

Speaking with Auto Motor und Sport only weeks after an Aussie Mazda exec said the next MX-5 could be the last to run a combustion motor, Moro said the MX-5’s replacement must be prepared for a future where combustion power is no longer viable at all due to regulatory roadblocks.

“The successor must also be ready for a scenario without a combustion engine,” Moro told the German title. “The challenge for us is to make the basic structure lighter without using exotic materials like carbon fiber.”

Instead of resorting to pricey composites, engineers are being challenged to make the underlying structure lighter using more conventional materials. And Mazda’s target sounds ambitious. Moro says developers are shooting for somewhere between “just under 1,000 kg and 1,200 kg (2,205-2,645 lbs)”, adding, “And I believe we can achieve that.”

If they can, an electric MX-5, most likely wearing a design inspired by the Iconic SP concept (below), could weigh roughly the same as today’s combustion models, or just a smidge higher. The MY26 roadster comes in at 1,003 kg (2,211 lbs) without a driver in Euro trim.

Electric Not The Only Answer

Mazda’s Icon SP concept from 2024.

Fortunately for piston fans, electric isn’t the only future Mazda is planning. The next MX-5 is also expected to use the company’s new 2.5-liter Skyactiv-Z four-cylinder. Some form of hybridization remains possible too, provided it doesn’t undermine the lightweight formula, in which case power could reach 220 hp (223 PS). Today’s hottest US Miata makes 181 hp (184 PS) and even Japan’s hardcore 12R model can’t top 197 hp (200 PS).

We’ll have to wait to see how Mazda makes all those options coexist, because the next-generation MX-5 isn’t expected before 2028 at the earliest. By then, the current ND will have enjoyed an impressively long innings stretching back to 2015.

Mazda Wants A Flagship Sports Car

But new Miata isn’t all we’ve got to look forward to. Moro has another sports-car itch he wants scratched.

“I want a ‘hero car’ for Mazda, a true flagship model that perfectly embodies our brand values,” he told Auto Motor und Sport.

Moro says the MX-5 will continue serving enthusiasts seeking accessible fun, but believes Mazda is missing something special at the opposite end of the showroom. He doesn’t expect this mystery machine to chase big sales numbers and even suggests it could be built largely by hand.

For several months, Jaguar Land Rover has been spied testing a low-slung, crossover with a sleek, tapered body that rides low and reads more sedan than your typical crossover, not unlike the Polestar 4. This model had been expected to launch as the next-generation Range Rover Velar. As it turns out, the prototypes belonged to something else, an all-new, fifth member of the Range Rover family called the GT, previewed here for the very first time.

The existing Range Rover Velar will continue to be sold as is for the foreseeable future, and the Range Rover GT will be sold as a separate model, offered exclusively with an all-electric powertrain at launch but later being offered with a hybrid setup. It’s underpinned by the company’s flexible EMA platform and clearly takes inspiration from the upcoming Jaguar 01.

Read: Range Rover Shoves New EV Sport Out Of An Airplane, But V8 Fans Can Relax

Visually, the GT shares a few cues with the existing Range Rover Sport, including a low front end and sharp headlights. It sits lower than the Sport, though, with a far more coupe-like profile. From the side it brings the Cadillac Celestiq and Jaguar’s Type 01 to mind, if only in broad outline, since the GT is noticeably shorter and stumpier than either one.

No Ordinary Range Rover Cabin

The cabin of the GT is reminiscent of the highly controversial Jaguar Type 01, a sedan that has yet to be revealed in full but has been extensively previewed by the British marque. Just like that vehicle, the GT has a head-turning steering wheel with thick horizontal spokes that appear to house touch-sensitive capacitive buttons. The airbag unit has then been positioned below the center line of the steering wheel.

Elsewhere, the stalks appear identical to those of the Jaguar, while there is also a slim display serving as the instrument cluster, and a large central infotainment display, suspended above a floating center console. The cabin is truly unlike anything else to wear the Range Rover badge and will no doubt be a big talking point of this vehicle. JLR says the GT will be sold as a four-seater to start with, but a second-row bench seat boosting capacity to five will be offered at a later date.

According to Range Rover managing director Martin Limpert, “The Range Rover GT will redefine the grand-touring segment with the ability to deliver beautiful and engaging GT poise, proportions and long-distance refinement while offering capabilities no conventional GT can match.”

More details about the Range Rover GT will be announced later this year, although the marque is not yet ready to say when sales and deliveries will begin.