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Acura Legend

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The Acura Legend, badged as Honda Legend outside the U.S., Canada Mexico and parts of China, was a sporty luxury vehicle sold by Honda from 1986 to 1995 as both a sedan and coupe. It was one of the first handful of vehicles sold under the Acura nameplate, and the first coupe' to be badged as an Acura. The Legend's position in the lineup as Acura's top-spec sedan was taken over by the RL which has continued to be sold as the Legend in Japan.

First generation

The model was introduced in 1986 to be Honda's premier luxury model in Japan and the range-topping model in their new Acura lineup. A 2.5 litre V6 powered both the sedan and coupe at introduction, although 1987 coupes were upgraded to a new 2.7 litre unit (C27), which appeared in the sedan for the 1988 model year. Production of 1st Gen. models ended in 1990 as a 2nd generation version became available.

The model shared parts and a similar appearance with the Rover 800.

Second generation

Second generation units became available for the 1991 model year, now using a 200 horsepower, SOHC C32 engine. By this time, the Integra model was using a DOHC, VTEC equipped inline-4 cylinder engine, so Honda's choice to utilize a single-cam, non-VTEC engine in the Legend came as a dissapointment to some fans who were hoping that the NSX's 290 horsepower, 3.0 litre C30A engine would be used as-is in the Legend. Ultimately though, the twin-cam motor proved to expensive to manufacture to be a cost-feasible option in the Legend. Nontheless, Honda made significant upgrades to the second generation Legend for 1993, and a 230 horsepower "Type II" version of the SOHC C32A engine became part of the package. Styling updates and new available options rounded out the big changes.

1995 was the last model year for the Legend, it was replaced by the RL sedan.

A twin-cam, VTEC equipped version of the C32 replaced the NSX's 3.0 engine in 1997.

Awards

The Legend Coupe was Motor Trend's Import Car of the Year for 1987. The coupe also made Car and Driver magazine's Ten Best list for 1988 through 1990.

See also


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