Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Acura, Rumormill
Who to believe? Internal email claims Acura RWD V8 program still alive
Earlier this week, Autocar reported that future high-end Acura models had been canceled. As it turns out, those rumors were more than a bit premature, as Jeff Conrad, Vice President of Acura, has informed his dealers via email that the long-awaited "Tier 1" program is moving forward on schedule. It's believed that the program is based around the large rear-wheel drive Acura that would go up against the best Germany has to offer. Also back on the table is a V8 engine to power this range-topping sedan from Honda. But it's not all good news for auto enthusiasts. Still dead, sadly, is the NSX revival. We're also unaware of a planned replacement for the soul-stirring S2000 roadster or a drop-top version of the upcoming CR-Z hatchback. Oh well, you can't win 'em all. Thanks for the tip, Nick!
[Source: Temple of VTEC]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
JDMlover 7:31PM (1/09/2009)
THAT FRONT END !!! MY EYES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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sue_me 9:08PM (1/09/2009)
Ze goggles, zey do notzing!
Soccer Mom 7:34PM (1/09/2009)
"against the best Germany has to offer" - for that, they will have to hire a designer, which is not on Honda's "To Do" list.
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cFoo 7:54PM (1/09/2009)
Yupe. On that email there better be some comment about redesigning the current TL. It's an eyesore on the road.
ken_aisin 9:17PM (1/09/2009)
The new TL looks even worse in person. Possibly the worst eyesore of 2009.
Domestic 6.0 11:07PM (1/09/2009)
When i see it i will believe it !!!
ASEVENSEE4 7:38PM (1/09/2009)
They really need to scrap that and focus on nosejobs for their current designs. Sad thing is the nasty grille is going on all of their stuff. I never liked the looks of the RDX but even it looks worse with the new Acura nose.
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chconline 7:38PM (1/09/2009)
"VTEC just kicked in yo" - Now in V8 form.
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Nick 1:00AM (1/10/2009)
Now in 4 litre 440hp form
happy_penguin 7:41PM (1/09/2009)
I've never understood how Honda can come up with one of the best looking compacts in the Civic and then come up with this ugly crap for their high end division.
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Red 7:41PM (1/09/2009)
Lmao @ Autoblog for putting that ugly *** pic up there. You guys are foul. lol
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Hike15 10:18PM (1/09/2009)
they should have at least used the tsx which is the best use of that stupid grill
Frank 7:49PM (1/09/2009)
Sounds like the rumor that Chrysler had stopped development of it Phoenix V6 engines. Just a rumor, unsubstantiated, but it was reported over the blogasphere as fact. In the rush to be the first to publish something not enough care is taken to verify it first.
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pmiddle5 7:55PM (1/09/2009)
They need a RWD platform to survive so this is not surprising. Only 7 more years of speaking about it before it gets released!
Better idea...V6 and turbo4 rwd instead! v8 for the "racer" model.
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Carlos 10:00PM (1/09/2009)
Honda doesn't need a rear wheel drive car or a V8 to survive. They've done without both for 30 years and they could do so for the foreseeable future. They're only doing it to attract a wider consumer base.
Red 11:31PM (1/09/2009)
"Honda doesn't need a rear wheel drive car or a V8 to survive."
Honda no. Acura, yes. At least rear drive. The V8, in my honest opinion, is completely unnecessary. People here assume you need 8 cylinders if you're a premium brand. Completely unnecessary. Acura just needs something distinct. Rear drive isn't distinct, but it's a start from folks associating Acuras as "overpriced Hondas".
BoxerFanatic 3:04AM (1/10/2009)
Do you guys realize that there are aspects of driving dynamics here? V8 and RWD or at least 50% rear bias AWD are not just for "racing."
There are inherent driving dynamics aspects to pushing a car, rather than pulling a car. Honda is even trying to capitalize on that with their SH-AWD business, but it is still transverse lop-sided, and FWD biased, with albeit good rear-wheel assist.
A V6 is a good engine. But any V-angle that is not a flat 6 or an inline 6 requires an offset crank, which adjusts the firing time of some of the cylinders.
A V8 engine, especially a somewhat compact combines a smooth 90 or 180 degree firing arrangement, and usually has inherently better torque, and thus can cruise at a lower RPM, under less stress, and less fuel consumption at speed. A V8 engine doesn't need to be a fire breather, although it is relatively easy to make it one, with two power strokes per revolution.
Some of what makes a V8 attractive is smoothness and effortlessness, both of which can be attractive to luxury or lux-sport buyers.
The so-called NSX-replacement, HSC, or whatever they called the concept, hardly seemed convincing as a front-engined car. I can see them doing such a thing for an Acura GT coupe or sport sedan.
But if they really want to produce an NSX replacement, a longitudinal-mounted 4.0-4.4 liter V8 developed from 2 S2000 engines on a common crankshaft, and next-gen VTEC, similar to Infiniti's VVEL, or BMW's Valvetronic system, and a dual-clutch automated transaxle with SH-RWD vectoring limited slip differential, in a car that looks like a worthy evolution of the old NSX, with slightly improved aesthetic proportions. (slightly shorter tail overhang is about all it would need.)
That would be a worthy successor to the NSX, and proper competition to the Cayman S, and a purer sports car than the GT-R. The NSX was faster than it's stats would have suggested, by being light, and having a very good suspension and a very respectable V6 engine. They could do that again, with a longitudinal centered layout, and 8 even-firing cylinders.
Vici 12:00PM (1/11/2009)
Honda absolutely needs to create a real presence in the RWD arena which would include both sports cars and mid size sedans. An entire generation of Honda enthusiasts that were essentially late teens and early 20's in the late 80's and early 90's is being lost to other manufacturers like BMW, Nissan/Infiniti and even niche players like Porsche. Honda needs a real alternative to the BMW 3 series for example and real alternatives to cars like the Infiniti G35 coupe. They also need to be careful about underestimating the value vehicles like the NSX, Integra Type R and S2000 had on positioning the brand in North America and the world as well as underestimating their success in Formula 1 also had on the brand. Producing a fuel efficient, green vehicle is exaclty what every car maker is or will be offerring in the near future. Honda still needs to distinguish itself from other carmakers and it's engineering leadership in providing real world performance was always key to this. That group of young enthusiasts is now looking to move onto mature performance vehicles which predominantly now include RWD in their handling offerring. The only cars I've owned were new Honda's including a Civic, 4 door Accord and current vehicle which is an 05 Accord 6spd V6 coupe. I'm seriously now looking at a 335, M3, G35 or even a used 911 as my next vehicle. Heaven forbid I'd actually consider a new CTS-V. Honda has nothing to offer to compete with these vehicles. With the TL and Accord Honda is following Toyota into the GM 1990's product offerrings. Very large FWD cars (not withstanding the FWD based AWD in the TL) which happen to offer some nice straight line performance along with front axle hop and torque steer to go with all that horsepower. Hardly anything to get excited about.
Juan 8:09PM (1/09/2009)
Wouldn't it be cool if this new RWD V8 Acura carried the name LEGEND? I won't hold my breath though...
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P.V. 8:26PM (1/09/2009)
I totally agree. That would be the perfect name for the range-topper. At any rate, I live again thanks to the survival of RWD/V8 sedans in the Acura lineup. V-TEC V8, anyone?
That said, I really like Acura's new designs (pictures don't do any justice at all). When I first saw the new TL and [gasp] RL on the road, they looked AMAZING!
Acura definitely hasn't had a problem with the new grilles, considering TL sales are up. It's the economy, stupid!
Oh, and for those of you who do this, please stop whining about the NSX not being mid-engined (I know, they aren't going to revive, it, but I might as well talk about it). Honda never referred to it as the NSX [i] per se [/i]; they always referred to it as the NSX-[i]replacement[/i] (thus, no guarantee of mid-engine design anyway).