Acura has come to the RADwood Car Show with a fully restored and modernized 1997 Isuzu Trooper, which also used to be produced with Acura styling and badge.
The project is called Super Handling SLX, and its single most challenging part, according to its creators, was the engine swap. The stock 3.5-liter V6 rated at 218 hp (163 kW) had to yield its place to a new VTEC Turbo racing-spec mill with two liters of displacement and 350 hp (258 kW). The main difficulty stemmed from the fact that the old unit was designed for longitudinal mounting, and the new one was meant to be mounted transversely.
Aside from this, the Acura engineering crew had to swap the solid rear axle out for new multi-link suspension. It has managed both tasks splendidly in the end, also upgrading the transmission to a modern ten-speed automatic and the drive system to SH-AWD.
The exterior of the car stays unchanged from the original except for new 17-inch wheels, a spare wheel cover in the back, and a few badges.
The cabin takes advantage of a fresh leather finish, a paddle shifter, and imitation-wood door panels.