Honda announced that its first original electric vehicle – that is, an electric vehicle based on its own platform rather than relying on another automaker’s technology like the Honda Prologue – will be the Acura RSX, scheduled to launch in 2026.

Honda’s two battery-electric vehicles in the US, the Honda Prologue and the Acura ZDX, are both based on General Motors’ Ultium vehicle platform. The Prologue in particular was an early success for Honda, surpassing sales of its sister vehicles, the Chevy Blazer and Equinox EVs.

But now Honda is ready to start working on its own technology. The RSX will also be the first electric vehicle built at Honda’s new factory in Ohio, where production is expected to begin in late 2025. The $4.4 billion plant is a joint venture between Honda and LG Chem, the Korean battery company.

Honda is resurrecting the RSX badge that the company first used in the early 2000s as a performance version of the Honda Integra. This follows Honda’s decision to also bring back the Prelude as a sporty two-door hybrid.

“With the RSX, we’re embracing an Acura nameplate that conveys fun-to-drive and performance, a great name for a sporty SUV with a coupe silhouette for our first original Acura EV,” said Lance Woelfer, vice president of automotive sales for American Honda Motor Co.

The RSX will also be Honda’s first vehicle to feature its proprietary Asimo OS. At CES, Honda said Asimo is the company’s first attempt at developing a software-defined vehicle, in which upgradable software controls the vehicle’s core functions. The operating system was named after Honda’s humanoid robot Asimo, which was retired in 2018. Asimo will also support the automaker’s new Honda Zero vehicles, the first of which will be the Honda 0 SUV.

“So it turns out that Acura is once again kind of spearheading electrification and our digital future,” said Jessica Fini, assistant vice president of communications at Honda.