Honda Legend

This page is about this vehicle's Japanese model. See Acura Legend for information on the North American model. Sections of this article are translated from Japanese Wikipedia.

The Honda Legend 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 Great Britain and was a twin of the Rover 800 series.

The Legend was initially a four-door sedan, with a two-door coupé added later. It was the model which launched Honda's upscale Acura brand in the United States. Honda was inspired by the word "legend" to create the first Honda vehicle with a V6.

The first and second-generation Honda Legend was known as the Acura Legend in North American markets from 1986-1995, and in 1996 the third-generation was renamed as the Acura RL, while the Legend name is still used in Japan and other markets.

Honda introduced the Legend as a flagship sedan to compete with the JDM Nissan Cedric and Nissan Gloria twins, the Toyota Crown, and later the Mazda Luce, and Mitsubishi Debonair. Unlike the Nissan twins and the Crown, the Legend is not used for taxi service. In the USA, the Legend competed with larger rear wheel drive V8 sedans Lexus LS and the Infiniti Q45, however, the Legend was marketed towards the slightly smaller Executive car vehicles that include the BMW 5 series, Audi A6, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, and the Jaguar S-type.

The Legend hardtop coupe was introduced to compete with the Nissan Leopard coupe, the Toyota Soarer, and Mazda Cosmo.

First generation (KA1/2/3/4/5/6, 1985-1990)

The Legend was based on the 1985 Honda Accord, but was the first Honda vehicle with a V6 engine. Honda wanted to appeal to wealthy middle-aged customers who were the traditional buyers of the Toyota Crown and Nissan Cedric & Gloria, as well as European mid-sized sedans. The major difference between the Legend and the Toyota and Nissan sedans was that the Legend was front wheel drive.