What you’re looking at here isn’t a pickup version
of the Acura MDX, but rather the Gold Cup S70. The four-door, double-cab
pickup, made in China, features a pickup bed in the back, and the shield-style
grille that Acura embraced for years but has since abandoned.
The interior looks rather Acura-like as well, with
two-tone upholstery, multifunction steering wheel, and a big infotainment
screen protruding from the dashboard to block the driver’s field of vision.
Word has it that the truck comes powered by a 1.5-liter turbocharged engine,
sending 154 horsepower and 162 lb-ft of torque through a manual transmission.
That’s a fair bit less than you’d find in either the
MDX or the Honda Ridgeline. Both feature (in their standard spec) a 3.5-liter
V6 producing around 280-290 horsepower and 260+ lb-ft of torque. But the MDX
isn’t available as a pickup, and the Ridgeline isn’t sold as an Acura.
Acura wouldn’t be the first
luxury automaker to delve into the pickup market. Lincoln produced the
Blackwood and Mark LT. Cadillac offered the Escalade EXT based on the Chevy
Avalanche. And Mercedes offers the X-Class (in certain markets) based on the
Renault Alaskan/Nissan Navara.
Somehow we don’t see Honda following suit anytime
soon, especially considering that neither Toyota’s Lexus nor Nissan’s Infiniti
brands compete in that market. But if there’s anything we’ve learned about this
business, it’s that you can never say never.
