Honda to unleash BMW X6 rival

BMW claims to have invented a whole new niche with its X6 crossover, offering buyers highly distinctive (if divisive) styling that mixes coupé with SUV, while the mechanicals suggest a modicum of off-road ability combined with serious on-road prowess. The jury is still out on the success of this idea, though Honda seems to like it, as rumour has it that the Japanese company will reveal its take on the sporty SUV crossover at next month's New York Auto Show.

Although the new car will be unveiled under Honda's US-only Acura brand - with power likely to come from Honda's 3.7-litre petrol V6 - prototypes of the new car have been seen undergoing hard laps of the famed Nurburgring in Germany, indicating that European sales are a possibility.

The Acura brand has been used to showcase Honda's most forward looking designs in recent times and a global rollout of the luxury nameplate should not be ruled out, though perhaps not until memories of the current recession have receded...

Sales of large SUVs, though less than they were, are still buoyant in the USA, so the new Acura will be greeted with open arms at its debut in near-production format at the New York Show. The doors open on April 10th.

Shane O' Donoghue