Future
The future of the Legend-RL is uncertain (dealers have been promised an "amazing flagship" without intricate details, and a prospective RWD V8 model was scrapped in 2008) although it is possible that it could become an Acura only model like the MDX which would allow more freedom in the development process. The international Legend variant will cease production in late 2012 and 2013-2014 production will take place in Japan but will be built alongside the 2015 NSX in Ohio from 2015 on. One of these freedoms is the addition of a hybrid drivetrain. It has been common knowledge that Honda is working on a hybrid system optimal for V6 applications, albeit tuned for performance in Acura models in the same vein as the Lexus LS600h and the Infiniti M35h. The official specs are not yet available, but from what is currently known about the electric SH-AWD system is that it uses a 315 horsepower direct injection SOHC VTEC V6 with a 40 horsepower electric motor housed in the 7-speed iSHIFT II dual clutch automatic in the front, while the rear is powered by two 30-hp electric motors that use a "negative torque" feature in which when going into a turn the inside motor sails and the regenerated energy is fed to the already-vectored outside motor; the combined output is 385 horsepower and 455 lb. ft(62.5kgm) of torque. The styling is said to resemble a muscular, and up-sized version of the current car. The wheelbase will also stretch quite considerably to accommodate a BMW 7 Series size cabin while the length will also grow but to a lesser degree, giving the car less overhangs and more presence. Acura has stated the car will debut at the 2012 New York International Auto Show.
On April 4, 2012, Acura unveiled the Acura RLX Concept, a replacement for the RL sedan, at the New York International Auto Show. Production of the fourth generation Legend ended on June 16, 2012 at the Japanese facility to change over to the new Legend to be introduced as a 2013 model.
Read more about this topic: Honda Legend
Famous quotes containing the word future:
“The difference between Pound and Whitman is not between the democrat who in deep distress could look hopefully toward the future and the fascist madly in love with the past. It is that between the woodsman and the woodcarver. It is that between the mystic harking back to his vision and the artist whose first allegiance is to his craft, and so to the reality it presents.”
—Babette Deutsch (1895–1982)
“If the children and youth of a nation are afforded opportunity to develop their capacities to the fullest, if they are given the knowledge to understand the world and the wisdom to change it, then the prospects for the future are bright. In contrast, a society which neglects its children, however well it may function in other respects, risks eventual disorganization and demise.”
—Urie Bronfenbrenner (b. 1917)
“As the mother of a son, I do not accept that alienation from me is necessary for his discovery of himself. As a woman, I will not cooperate in demeaning womanly things so that he can be proud to be a man. I like to think the women in my son’s future are counting on me.”
—Letty Cottin Pogrebin (20th century)