New spy photos catch a very odd TLX test mule on the
road, and it's identity is a mystery. However, this could be our very first
hints about the changes for the sporty TLX Type-S. The weird vehicle features a
camouflaged front end, and there are some very weird details visible underneath
the cladding. It's hard to miss the bizarre turquoise color for
the body panels that extend across the front end. One possibility is that Acura
is trying doubly hard to hide the pieces. We don't usually see automaker's
using such a colorful form of concealment, though.
Another oddity is that the headlights appear to be
halogen pieces, but the TLX only comes Acura's Jewel Eye LEDs. At the rear,
Acura's engineers bolt on some fender flares, presumably for fitting slightly
larger tires. The trapezoidal exhausts appear slightly wider than the ones
currently available on the TLX, too.
Acura also camouflages the interior, suggesting
there are changes in there. One tweak is evident – a screen emerges from the
top of the dashboard. However, the existing TLX has the display covered in a
shroud on the dashboard as a design detail to avoid sun glare.
Acura intends to create a sporty line of Type-S
models that would use a brand-exclusive turbocharged V6 engine and
torque-vectoring Super Handling All-Wheel Drive. The tweaked exhaust and wider
fenders on this test mule might be evidence that this the sporty version. These
vehicles wouldn't be ultra-hardcore track machines, though. Acura PR
representative Zach Vlasuk told Motor1.com in January that the Type-S models
would be more akin to a mildly sporty Mercedes C43 than a C63 or BMW M3.
