Honda Legend

The Honda Legend, currently marketed as the Acura RL in North America, is a full-size luxury car made by the Japanese automaker Honda. It was originally developed as part of Project XX, a joint venture with the Austin Rover Group of the United Kingdom; the resultant "twin" was the 1986 Rover 800 series.


Background

The Legend was initially a four-door sedan (saloon), with a two-door coupé being added later. The first Honda Legend used a 2.0 liter V6 C20A. This was Honda's first V6. In subsequent models, a larger version of the same engine was used, the 2.5 C25A, then the 2.7 C27A, and then a turbocharged C20AT was introduced that was the most powerful Honda engine ever made at the time, and also was Honda's first turbocharged engine. This motor used a revolutionary wing turbo system. Only recently has Honda turbocharged another gasoline engine. The C-series engines were very capable/reliable and highly regarded engines. All 2nd Generation Legends used a larger version C32A, of this motor. Also, all NSX's used a more powerful C-series engine C30A and C32B, which were essentially based on the original C20/C25/C27 used in the first Honda Legend. The sedan was the model which launched Honda's premium Acura brand in the North America. The North American market did not get the C20A or the C20AT. The first generation Acura Legend did use the same C25A, and later the C27A, although power output varied slightly from the Honda Legend versions. The newest iteration is the 3.5 liter C35A used in the 3rd generation (1996-2004) Honda/Acura Legend.

The first-generation Honda Legend was manufactured from 1985 until 1989, with a second-generation model (also offered as a sedan and coupé) launching in 1990. The Rover 800 was not renewed, continuing on the old XX platform, although it did receive a major update in 1992. The third-generation Legend was released in 1996.

The first and second-generation Honda Legend was known as the Acura Legend in North American markets and in Hong Kong from 1986-95, and in 1996 the third-generation was renamed the Acura RL, while the Legend name continued on in Japan and other markets onto a third and fourth-generation. Although this naming convention change is now regarded by many as a complete blunder, at the time Acura was trying to compete with the similar Mercedes/Lexus/BMW model names. At the same time, the new Acura RL/Honda Legend was considered a step down in performance and style by many. It is believed by some that Honda/Acura suffered these bad decisions and others due to the death of Soichiro Honda, the founder of Honda motors, who was known for his active role in the Honda/Acura Legend. Only recently has Acura recovered in lost sales and brand image. These changes applied to other Acura models as well, including the Vigor to the TL, and a few years later, the Integra to the RSX.


Variants

The second-generation Legend was also manufactured by Daewoo in South Korea from 1993-2000 under the name of Daewoo Arcadia, for the domestic market mostly.

The third-generation model was offered as a sedan only. A mid-term facelift came in 1999.

The swoopier fourth-generation Honda Legend was launched on October 7, 2004 and became Japan's Car of the Year for 2004-05, marking the fourth time in five years that Honda had taken the award. The new car has a 300 PS engine and an intelligent night-vision system to detect pedestrians.

The Legend went on sale in Australia for the 2007 model year, based on the third-generation Acura RL.

In 2008, Honda plans on bringing the Acura brand into the Pacific. The Honda Legend will likely be rebranded into the Acura RL.