Acura Legend

The Acura Legend, sold as the Honda Legend outside the U.S., Canada, and parts of China, was a luxury vehicle sold from 1986 to 1995 as both a sedan and coupe. It was the first flagship sedan sold under the Acura nameplate, until being renamed in 1996 as the Acura 3.5RL. The 3.5RL was North American version of the (KA9) series Honda Legend. In Japan, the Legend was only offered at Honda Clio dealerships.

The opportunity for Japanese manufacturers to export more expensive models had arisen with the 1980s voluntary export restraints, negotiated by the Japanese government and U.S. trade representatives, restricting mainstream car sales.2.7 L C27A V6 |transmission=5-speed manual4-speed automatic |wheelbase=Sedan: Coupe: |length=1986-88 Sedan: Coupe: 1989-1990 Sedan: |width=1989-1990 Sedan: 1986-88 Sedan: Coupe: |height=Sedan: Coupe: }}

Honda introduced the model in Japan in October 22, 1985 to be their premier luxury model and in North America in 1986 as the top of the line model for its then-new Acura lineup. Sedan models came to the market first, powered by a 2.5 L C25A V6, with coupes making their first appearance in 1987, powered by a new 2.7 L C27A engine. Sedans received the new engine for 1988.

The Legend was the first production Honda vehicle to offer only a SOHC V6 engine worldwide. The Legend was a result of a joint venture with Britain's Austin Rover Group called Project XX that started in November 1981 with the Austin Rover-Honda XX letter of intent signed by the two companies to replace the Rover SD1 and to provide a luxury vehicle for Honda. The Rover Company had a long established reputation as a luxury car in the United Kingdom and Europe, demonstrated with the Rover P6, and Honda wanted to introduce a luxury car for both domestic Japanese and the United States markets. Rover also wanted to return to the American market when they had reportedly sold only 1,500 cars in 1971, and a brief return in 1980, selling 800 Rover SD1s by offering the Sterling which was also a result of the ARG-Honda partnership.4-speed automatic6-speed manual |wheelbase=Coupe: Sedan: |length=Sedan: Coupe: |width= |height=1991-92 Coupe: Sedan: 1993-95 Coupe: }}

Second generation units became available October 24, 1990, now using a SOHC (C32A) engine mated to either a standard 5-speed manual or an optional 4-speed automatic. The second generation Legend was a larger, more streamlined-looking car (drag coefficients were actually higher at 0.34 for sedans and 0.32 for coupes). The Legend offered a host of features seen on luxury cars of today including speed-sensitive steering, hands-free telephone, automatic climate control, heated leather seats, heated mirrors, 4-wheel ABS disc brakes, seat belt pretensioners and soft-close vacuum-operated doors (coupes only). The rear end appearance of the sedan was adopted from the first generation Legend coupe, as the first generation sedans appearance was very similar to the first generation Subaru Legacy, and Honda also wanted to visually align the appearance of both the Legend coupe and sedan to the Acura NSX. The segment the Legend originally filled was now being served by the Acura Vigor which allowed the Legend to position itself more towards the rear drive Lexus LS and the Infiniti Q45 sedans. Honda decided not to upgrade the size of the engine to a V8 because it would have upstaged the Acura NSX which has a V6 that introduced Honda's VTEC technology.

For 1991 and 1992 the Legend sedan was available in Base, L, and LS trims; the coupe remained available in L and LS through its entire run. The higher-end LS cars added climate control, a power 4-way passenger seat, burled walnut interior trim, and body colored side moldings. Honda made significant upgrades for 1993, making a Type II version of the SOHC C32A engine standard on all coupes, along with a 6-speed manual transmission. 1993 also saw the addition of dual airbags as standard equipment all trims, the deletion of the black molding on the entry level cars, and a new wheel design with fewer spokes on the sedans (16-spoke vs. 20-spoke).

In 1994, all Legends received new front bumpers, a new front grille (L & LS Sedans only), revised trunk lids, and a power tilt-telescoping steering column; the word "Legend" was now spelled out in individual letters on the back. The base sedan, 4DR STD transmission, was dropped, while a new GS sedan became the new top-line variant, sporting the Type II engine, upgraded brakes from the coupe, sport suspension from the coupe, a body colored version of the 1991 to 1993 grille, the same standard 6-speed manual found on the coupes as well as the special 16" 5-spoke LS Coupe wheels (better known as GS Wheels). Also in 1994, the LS version of the sedan lost the standard manual transmission. It was only available with an automatic transmission.

Added for 1995 was a limited-production SE sedan. Essentially a Legend L with a two-tone paint scheme, pre-1993 15" 7-spoke LS Coupe wheels, "Special Edition" floor mats, and automatic transmission.

The Japan Domestic Market version of the 1990 Legend (second generation) was the first vehicle offered with a and navigation system, although it was not satellite-based and instead relied on a gas gyroscope. The tooling and intellectual property rights of the second generation Legend were licensed to Daewoo Motors of South Korea, where a clone of the Legend sedan, called the Daewoo Arcadia, was produced from 1993 to 2000. During this period, Honda also held a small stake in Daewoo Motors.

The replacement for the Legend sedan is sold as the Acura RL in North America, although Honda continues to sell it as the Legend in most other areas of the world.

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Legend Category:1980s automobiles Category:1990s automobiles Category:Vehicles introduced in 1986 Category:Coupes Category:Flagship vehicles Category:Executive cars Category:Front wheel drive vehicles Category:Mid-size cars Category:Sedans