The Only Luxury Automaker In America That’s Never Sold A V8

The V8 engine is one of the most versatile in the motoring universe. They can be found in some of the rabid mid-engined supercars, such as the Chevrolet Corvette, compact coupes like the Lexus RC F, and land-crushing off-roaders like the Ford F-150 Raptor R. Due to their power and smooth operation, they can also be tuned to provide a effortless driving experience in luxury cars.

Iconic brands like Cadillac and Mercedes-Benz favored them for decades, and still use them in many models to this day, despite ongoing environmental challenges. One brand never to experiment with V8s though is Acura, which has always stuck with smaller engines. CarBuzz looked into the reasons why.

Every car highlighted in this article was manufactured by Japanese brand Acura, and illustrates how the marque has never offered a vehicle with a V8 engine. In case you’re wondering why Honda is not on this list, it’s because it actually does build V8 engines.

Acura Won The Battle To Be The First Japanese Luxury Marque

During the late 1980s, Honda was locked in a battle with Japanese rivals Toyota and Nissan to be the first to establish a luxury brand. The Japanese government had established export restraints in the form of tax on any cars shipped to the United States, so brands with a US presence worked out that they could make more profit by selling more expensive models.

Rather than use their own established brand names, which had earned their name by offering more affordable vehicles, they each set about developing new ones. Nissan came up with Infiniti, which is currently making an impressive comeback, Toyota with Lexus, and Honda established Acura for the US market. Honda managed to beat its rivals to the US market with its new marque, with Acura being established in 1986. It first offered the Legend sedan and Integra coupe models, and continued to grow over the following decades.

The added luxury of the Acura models, combined with Honda’s legendary reliability, proved to be a potent recipe, and it became one of the best-selling luxury brands. Unlike Lexus and Infiniti, Honda has primarily continued to focus on the US market with Acura, the brand having only been offered in nations like Russia, Ukraine, and Kuwait outside of the continent. It also stands alone from the others in the engine department, having never offered V8s despite selling a range of sedans, SUVs, and performance cars throughout its near-40-year history.

Honda Favors More Efficient And Compact Engines

Even despite its Acura models being lavished with more luxury than standard Honda offerings, the Japanese marque still had one eye on cost-effectiveness and efficiency. The brand has always tended to favor developing compact engines in its vehicles, which help save weight and make the car they’re fitted in more fuel efficient. Therefore, four and six-cylinder engines provide enough power potential for the brand, which has geared its development towards tech like VTEC to make the engines perform like larger ones, but all the while saving on size and weight.

Utilizing smaller engines also helps to increase cabin space, as Acura can offer similar-sized cars to its BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Lexus rivals without having to sacrifice space to squeeze in larger V8 or V12 powerplants. Smaller engines are also more in Honda’s wheelhouse, so it has elected to stick with what it knows.

Acura Is Able To Excel In The Efficient Luxury Vehicle Market

It also ensures Acura can occupy a different segment of the market compared to its rivals, as not every luxury car buyer needs to have a massive engine. Many simply want to have a comfortable and luxurious cabin to chill in, and don’t care for having the extra torque larger engines can offer. Honda’s four- and six-pot engines are still pretty potent in their own right, and cost less in tax and fuel.

Acura Holds Its Own With Smaller Engines In Its Upper-Market Vehicles

Just because Acura utilizes smaller powerplants, doesn’t mean they don’t have a decent turn of grunt. Acura’s most powerful internal combustion engine-equipped car, the last 2022 model year of the second-generation NSX, the Type-S, came with a twin-turbo 3.5-liter V6 mated to a hybrid powertrain, which produced a healthy 600 hp. Another example is the Acura RL, which was the brand’s mid-size luxury sedan between 1996 and 2012. It only came with a 3.5-liter V6 engine, while one of its key rivals, the Lexus GS, had the option of 4.6-liter V8.

Despite the Lexus’ much bigger engine capacity, it only made around 50 hp more than the Acura could manage. The gulf in torque was larger, but the V6 performed admirably considering it was significantly smaller and lighter than the V8 lump in the Lexus. Parent company Honda has continued developing its engines over the last decade or so too, and its current range of four and six-pot units are not to be messed with.

The K20C1 Is One Of The Most Revered Four-Cylinders On The Road

One of Acura’s newest offerings, the 2024 Integra Type-S four-door coupe, comes with a turbocharged 2.0-liter powerhouse called the K20C1. As the same unit featured in the current FL5 Honda Civic Type R, the small engine provides the Integra with an impressive 320 hp, while still remaining efficient. In fact, the K-Series engine has become a legend in its own lifetime.

The same goes for the turbocharged 3.0-liter J30 V6 powerplant featured in its MDX Type-S SUV, which comes with 355 hp and 354 lb-ft of torque. Even the unit in the standard MDX, a naturally aspirated 3.5-liter J35 V6, performs well compared to the competition. With 290 hp on tap, it gets the better of Lexus’ turbocharged 2.4-liter inline-four unit featured in its RX and TX SUVs.

Acura’s Expertise In Smaller Engines Is Paying Dividends In 2024 And Beyond

Why Acura Has Never Offered A Car With A V8

• Parent company Honda has focused on developing more compact and lighter engines
• Technology like VTEC and turbocharging mean smaller engines don’t give away much in the way of performance to V8s, but are more efficient
• Allows its models to stand out in the luxury vehicle market, by offering top-end luxury without having to resort to a thirsty engine

All of Acura’s focus on utilizing smaller engines is working in its favor these days, given larger engines like V8s are being cast aside for smaller and more efficient powerplants. It is therefore already ahead of the curve in this area, whereas rival brands are having to go through the motions in developing their smaller engines to not only be more powerful and efficient, but reliable too. While it might eventually phase out its V6 engines in favor of more efficient four-cylinder units, such as its turbocharged 1.5-liter I4 featured in its upcoming ADX compact crossover SUV, it is also adding full electric cars to its line-up. Its new 2025 ZDX electric SUV is the most powerful SUV the brand has ever offered, with its dual-motor powertrain affording it 499 hp. It’s currently based on GM’s electric architecture, but Honda and Acura will start building their own EV in the US in 2025.

The Move Towards Greener Engines Could Work Against Acura

The move away from larger engines toward compact turbocharged or hybrid units, as well as EV powertrains, is both a blessing and a curse for Acura. On one hand, its decades of focusing on small engines give it an advantage in the sector for now, but its rivals are catching up. With every manufacturer eventually being on an even footing as far as engine tech goes, it will lose one of its key USPs versus its competitors.

It will likely need to rely on parent company Honda’s class-leading and fun-to-drive hybrid technology to fend off opposition from Tesla and Chinese brands like BYD, which have largely cornered the worldwide EV market. With Toyota also bang on the money with its hybrid offerings, and brands like Hyundai/Kia also close behind, Acura has its work cut out to remain king of the efficient luxury carmakers.

Sources:
Acura
.