Honda Gets Serious About Acura And Will Offer A V8

Luxury car drivers are among the most discriminating car buyers in the world. Burl wood, brushed aluminum, and bolstered leather seating are standard equipment musts for many, but a strong engine, speed, and rear wheel drive are also important to them.

An Acura V8

Honda’s luxury brand, Acura, offers many of the important items that drivers want, but they have long lacked one thing: a V8 engine. However, that is expected to change as Honda recently announced that a V8 engine is on its way to power as at least one model, probably the top of the line RL when it makes it debut in 2010. Yes, fuel efficient Honda is going where the automaker has never gone before – offering robust V8 power, but with an important twist: the auto manufacturer promises to deliver one of the most fuel efficient engines in this class.

The move to V8 power seems like a curious one in these days of high gas prices. But, luxury car buyers demand performance over price and are willing to pay extra for that privilege, no matter whether at the showroom or at the pump. A V8 engine is a badge of distinction, one that allows a luxury car maker to be truly named among the world’s elite, something Acura has missed up to this point.

Competing With Top Luxury Makes

With Lexus, Cadillac, BMW, Mercedes, Audi and others each sporting V8 models, Acura hasn’t quite lived up to expectations, having to settle for a 3.7L V6 in hopes that buyers will be satisfied with reduced power, but quite frankly they haven’t been.

The move to a larger V8 will also mean that the Honda NSX sports car will see a V10 engine, putting that car right up there with the Dodge Viper and Chevrolet Corvette. Also, Honda is working on developing an all-new super luxury Acura, one that is expected to compete with the BMW 7-Series and the Mercedes S-Class, among other models.

Big, Powerful, and Fuel Efficient

How will Honda find class leading fuel economy with its all-new V8 engine? Knowing Honda, who keeps such information tightly wrapped, they’ll make excellent use of lightweight materials (aluminum, for example) and pair that engine with a state of the art automatic transmission, perhaps one with eight speeds. Together, expect fuel economy to exceed 25 mpg on the highway, maybe approaching 30 mpg which would be unheard of for an engine of its class.

If anyone can pull off an amazing engineering feat that would be Honda, an automotive manufacturer who continually raises the bar with all things automotive technology.