15 years of Super Handling All-Wheel Drive celebrated at Burrard Acura

SH-AWD revolutionized all-wheel drive with torque vectoring

It's been 15 years since Acura upended the luxury auto sector with torque vectoring Super Handling All-Wheel Drive, so therefore Japan's preeminent premium brand has marked the event by producing a video highlighting the advanced all-wheel drive system's history and capability (watch it below).

For some background, Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) dynamically and continuously distributes engine torque between the front and rear axles, from 70-percent up front and 30-percent to the back, or alternatively from 30-percent to the front and 70-percent at the rear. Additionally, up to 100-percent of the engine's rear torque can be distributed to the left or right wheels in order to reduce understeer, and therefore improve performance. Like any worthy technology, Acura has refined SH-AWD with each new generation, while it's now either standard or optional on five of the luxury brand's six models.

2019 RDX incorporates most advanced fourth-generation SH-AWD

Now in its fourth-generation, the most up-to-date version of Acura's mechanical SH-AWD debuted last year in the completely redesigned 2019 RDX. It features 40-percent more torque capacity at the rear wheels, faster torque transfer from front to rear, and 30-percent quicker torque transfer between the left and right rear wheels.

With an eye toward greater electrification in the future, the RLX Sport Hybrid, which arrived in 2014, the second-generation NSX, introduced in 2017, and the MDX Sport Hybrid, also arriving in 2017, ushered in the most advanced iteration of SH-AWD yet. Rather than the mechanical SH-AWD design used up to this point, the new Sport Hybrid SH-AWD system incorporates electric motor torque for more instantaneous four-wheel performance, plus much greater efficiency overall.

Innovative Sport Hybrid SH-AWD utilizes dual electric motors for torque vectoring

How does it work? The mid-engine NSX supercar uses an innovative design incorporating three electric motors, two of which make up a Twin Motor Unit (TMU) that apportions torque to each front wheel individually, whereas both RLX and MDX models spin that process around by putting the gas-electric hybrid engine in the front and the TMU in the rear, the latter distributing electric motor torque between the back wheels, the result being the same as with the mechanical SH-AWD system. In spite of polar opposite layouts, Acura's electrified Sport Hybrid SH-AWD system applies identical technologies while using many of the same components to power a low-slung mid-engine sports car, a luxurious sport sedan, and a premium three-row, mid-size crossover SUV.

SH-AWD nearing one-millionth unit mark

A decade-and-a-half of SH-AWD success isn't the only milestone to be celebrated at Burrard Acura this year, because Acura will soon exceed the one million unit global sales mark for Super Handling All-Wheel Drive-equipped vehicles.

The first model to receive SH-AWD was the Acura RL flagship luxury sedan (2005-2012), which was followed up by the MDX (2007-2015), RDX (2007-2012), TL (2009-2014), and ZDX (2010-2013) that used the second-generation system featuring Hill Logic, VSA and TCS, whereas the TLX (2015-present) and MDX (2016-present) incorporate the more advanced third-generation SH-AWD system boasting a 25-percent lighter rear differential and more, while the previously noted RDX (2019-present) gets the more compact and quicker responding fourth-generation SH-AWD. Lastly, the RLX Sport Hybrid (2015-present), NSX (2017-present) and MDX Sport Hybrid (2017-present) lead Acura into a future of electrification thanks to their Sport Hybrid SH-AWD systems.

To learn more about all the Acura models that feature advanced Super Handling All-Wheel Drive, or to personally experience exactly how SH-AWD provides better handling for a more enjoyable and safer driving experience, contact Burrard Acura by phone at (888) 237-4935, or visit us in our showroom at 730 Terminal Avenue, Vancouver. 

Also, make sure to check out this video highlighting the Acura Super Handling All-Wheel Drive system's history and capability.

Story credits: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press
Photo credits: Acura
Copyright: Canadian Auto Press Inc.