Around here it became known as Opel Monterey or Isuzu Trooper, however, there were markets where it went by the name of Acura SLX or Honda Horizon (among many others) and is an example of badge engineering at its best.
The example we're talking to you about today is an Acura SLX, the first SUV to be sold by Honda's premium brand (mostly in North America) and it's the latest example of a restomod we've come across. The curious thing is that this copy is by Acura herself.
Aesthetically, it remained practically identical to when it left the stand in 1997. Even so, the new 17” wheels stand out, the new paintwork and the “SH-AWD” logo that anticipate the novelties hidden under the bonnet and at the level of the transmission.
Inside, the only novelties are the new gearbox control, the new upholstery and a (very) discreet wooden inlay.
Inside, almost everything remained the same...
And in mechanics, what has changed?
If aesthetically this restomod kept the Acura SLX practically unchanged, the same cannot be said at the mechanical level.
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For starters, the V6 engine with 3.2 l and 190 hp it originally relied on gave way to a 2.0 l four-cylinder, VTEC, turbo which, after some “shaking”, started to deliver 350 hp.
The original four-speed automatic transmission was replaced by a 10-speed one, which also forced the integration of a new command inside the SLX. The all-wheel drive system gave way to Acura's SH-AWD (Super Handling All Wheel Drive), a system capable of torque vectoring.
Finally, at the level of the ground connections, the Acura SLX received new sub-chassis at the front and at the rear. At the front, the suspension scheme went from superimposed triangles to the MacPherson type, while at the rear, it lost the rigid axle and gained an independent multilink scheme.
The brakes have also been increased, with the fronts growing by an inch, and the track width has also increased substantially.
The components that now make up this revitalized and modified SLX come from the Acura RDX, one of the SUV's currently sold by the brand. The final result of this exercise could not be more satisfactory: it remains faithful to the original, and we would hardly distinguish it from other SLX, even knowing the extent of the changes made.
