What Acura Has the Most Horsepower and a List of The Top 20 Acuras Of All Time

It has now been recognized that over the past few decades, Acura, Honda’s luxury line, has come a long way and is now becoming one of the most recognizable products in the world.

The firm has created massively famous vehicles such as the Integra, gaining notoriety through various media channels, including film (The Fast and the Furious Series) and music, in which the Notorious B.I.G. rapper wrote lyrics calling out the brand’s name. Acura cars have become more refined with time, and sales have increased. Acura has expanded its reach over the years, from sporty little coupes to spacious SUVs, to become more available to a wider range of customers. Typically, the products of the company are not known to set speed records or drive off the beaten track but that doesn’t mean that Acura vehicles aren’t some of the most effective and competent around. Several designs can still reach really impressive speeds.

Here are the 20 fastest all-time Acura designs.

1. NSX-R (1992):NSX had always intended to be the world class sports car, so the engineers decided to make some compromises that would lead to a balance between daily drive ability and raw performance.  Honda decided in 1992 to create a version of the NSX specifically designed for superior track results at the cost of usual creature comforts for those NSX clients seeking a no-compromise racing experience. The NSX Type R (or NSX-R) was therefore been born. Honda chose to use its Type R moniker to describe the race-oriented skills of the NSX-R.

• Honda engineers embarked on an aggressive weight reduction program with a base NSX coupé. Along with some of the electrical equipment, audio system, sound deadening, air conditioning system, spare tyre and traction control were all removed. Recaro for Honda substituted the energy leather seats with carbon-kevlar racing seats which are lightweight.
• Electrical windows and electrical seat adjusters in front / aft were maintained, however. The stock forged alloy wheels were substituted by Enkei manufactured lighter forged aluminium wheels, which lowered the unsprung weight of the car. A sculpted titanium piece substituted for the normal leather shift knob.

Overall, Honda succeeded in reducing weight by about 120 kg (265 lb) compared to the conventional NSX which resulted in NSX-R weight 1230kg.

2. NSX-T (1995):Starting in 1995, the NSX-T with a removable black targa top was introduced as a unique order option in Japan and subsequently in North America in March 1995. The NSX-T largely replaced the standard coupé in North America as the only variant available after 1994 and all NSXs were subsequently accessible in the targa body style.

• In addition to this major change, all subsequent NSX-Ts (1995–2001) had front sway bars of a smaller diameter, slightly steeper front springs, softer rear springs and firmer shock-dampers to enhance ride comfort and tire wear while decreasing the tendency to over-steer prevalent in mid-engine size cars.

3. 1999 NSX (Alex Zanardi ) edition:The NSX Alex Zanardi Edition was launched in 1999 to celebrate the two back-to-back CART Champ Car championship victories for Honda / Acura in 1997 and 1998, produced solely for the United States. There were only 51 examples built to reflect the color of the winning car in “Chip Ganassi Racing”, which Zanardi drove, and they were only available in New Formula Red.

• The weight of the total car was decreased by 149 pounds (68 kg) compared to the
• NSX-T by using a fixed roof, a single panel rear glass, a lighter rear spoiler, lightweight BBS alloy wheels and a manual rack-and-pinion steering system instead of an electrical steering system.

4. Acura ZDX:The Acura ZDX is a luxury crossover of a mid-size vehicle designed by Honda for its Acura brand for upmarket. The vehicle was initially planned to be known as the Acura MSX. The ZDX premiered on April 8, 2009 at the 2009 New York International Auto Show. Also, the car was the first to be fully built at the design studio in Southern California at Acura.

• The vehicle was said to be a “new prestige level for Acura.” It features the first six-speed automatic transmission from Acura, sophisticated ventilated seats and other luxury appointments. While the ZDX shares a comparable profile with the Honda Crosstour, the two cars are not mechanically connected: the latter is based on the Honda Agreement, while the ZDX is based on the Acura MDX/ Honda Pilot.

5. Acura ARX-01:The AcuraARX-01, which was later known as the HPD ARX-01, is a series of Le Mans prototypes constructed for sports car racing in the Le Mans 24 Hours Series and American Le Mans Series. It is the Honda Motor Company’s Acura division’s first purpose-built race car, which is the part of their multi-year program to ultimately compete in endurance racing.

• Before extending to clients in Europe, the vehicle debuted in the American Le Mans Series in 2007. Over the years, different ARX-01 chassis requirements have been created, each with a letter suffix.
• Acura withdrew its name from the program in 2010 and Honda Performance Development, which created the Acura vehicle, continued with the program until 2011.

6. Acura legend:The Acura Legend was a Honda-made full-size luxury car. It was sold as both a sedan and a coupe in the U.S., Canada, and sections of China under the luxury brand of Honda Acura, from the year 1986 to 1995. It was the first flagship sedan marketed under the name plate of Acura until it was renamed Acura 3.5RL in 1996.

• The 3.5RL was Honda Legend’s North American version of the KA9 series. With the 1980s volunteer export restrictions, negotiated by the U.S. trade representatives and Japanese government, the chance for Japanese companies to export more costly designs had arisen.
• The Legend and Honda’s Acura division’s original success in competing with established European and American luxury producers would result in Toyota and Nissan establishing the Lexus and Infiniti brands, respectively, competing on the world wide luxury car market.

7. 2002 NSX facelift:The NSX got a facelift in December 2001 to maintain the vehicle to a more modern standard like its rivals. In addition to a modified suspension, the initial pop-up headlamps were substituted with fixed xenon HID headlamps and with slightly wider back tyres. The front spring rates were raised from 3.2 kg / m to 3.5 kg / m, the back-spring rates from 3.8 kg / m to 4.0 kg / m and the diameter decreased.

• In addition to the front air dam style and the back spoiler, the tail light housings were also amended. Quad units substituted the twin exhaust tips.
• Due to the design modifications, the drag coefficient fell slightly to 0.30 which led to an enhancement in acceleration and top velocity with an increase of 0.2 seconds in the acceleration moment of 0–201 km / h (0–125 mph) and an increase in top velocity of 282 km / h which was an added bonus.

8. Acura RL:The Acura RL was a full-size luxury car manufactured over two generations by Honda’s Acura division for the model years 1996–2012. The RL was the brand’s flagship, succeeding the Acura Legend and was replaced by the Acura RLX in 2013.All models of the Legend, RL and RLX ranges originated from the Honda Legend Japanese domestic market.

• The model name “RL” is an abbreviation for “Refined Luxury.” The Acura RL first-generation was a rebadged version of the Honda Legend third-generation and was first launched to the North American market in 1996 to replace the Acura Legend second-generation.
• The Acura RL second-generation was a rebadged version of the Honda Legend fourth-generation, launched as a 2005 model into the North American market in September 2004. For the 2009 model year, this iteration of the RL got a comprehensive mid generational facelift and another update for 2011. The third generation debuted as the Acura RLX for the 2014 model year.

9. Acura MDX:Honda MDX or Acura MDX, as known in Australia and Japan, is a three-row seat mid-size luxury crossover SUV manufactured by Japanese automaker Honda since 2000 under its Acura luxury nameplate. The alphanumeric name is “Multi-Dimensional Luxury.” The MDX is the best-selling luxury three-row crossover of all time, according to Honda, with cumulative U.S. sales anticipated to exceed 700,000 units by the end of the year 2014.

• After Lexus RX which has only two rows of seats, Acura MDX was ranked as the second bestselling three row vehicle.
• The MDX was launched to replace the slow-selling U.S. – only body-on-frame SLX which was based on the Isuzu Trooper as a model in 2001. The MDX was the costliest crossover in Acura’s range, except for the model years 2009-13 when a crossover was added by Acura to slot above the MDX, which was known as ZDX.

10. NSX-R facelift:In 2002, a second NSX-R iteration was revealed, again solely in Japan. Like the first NSX-R, the main focus for performance enhancement was weight decrease. Because of its more rigid and lighter weight construction, the NSX-R was again based on the coupé. Carbon fiber has been widely used throughout the body to decrease weight, including a bigger and more aggressive rear spoiler, deck lid and vented hood.

• It has been said that the vented hood is the biggest one-piece carbon fiber hood used on a highway vehicle in manufacturing. In addition, weight reduction methods of the initial NSX-R have been repeated, including removal of the audio system, sound insulation and air conditioning. The energy steering mechanism was also abolished.
• The balancing and design method considerably decreased parasitic energy loss owing to inertial imbalance, leading to a stronger, free-revving energy station with an outstanding throttle response. Honda’s second NSX-R effort resulted in a vehicle that could challenge the most recent sports car models on the road, despite having a more than 15-year-old base design.

11. Acura TSX:The Acura TSX was Acura’s compact executive car. Introduced as a 2004 model in April 2003, it was sold only in Canada and the US, but has also been available in Mexico since the 2009 model year. It’s also marketed in Puerto Rico and Guam. It is marketed under the Acura luxury brand in North America, where it filled the gap as the 4-door entrance-level sedan of Acura. Finally, the TSX would also substitute for the U.S. Acura RSX. The TSX was the smallest vehicle on the Acura model line from 2008 to 2013, other than the Civic-based CSX that was sold in Canada only.

• The interior, however, has now been standardized for all three markets since 2008. The CL-series is marketed as the Accord Euro in New Zealand & Australia in the lower mid-size range, where the American-market agreement is sold in the big vehicle category.

12. Acura RDX: The first compact luxury crossover SUV from Acura is Acura RDX to take over from the MDX as the entry-level crossover SUV from Acura as the MDX grew in cost. The RDX was originally constructed on the same platform that Honda utilizes for its CR-V passenger and Civic vehicles, but the Acura RDX is constructed on its own platform from its third generation.
    • The production RDX debuted at the 2006 New York Auto Show and went on sale on August 11, 2006 as the Acura RD-X concept car. In August 2009, a facelifted 2010 model went on sale adopting the energy plenum grille of Acura seen on its sedan designs. Also added to the front-wheel drive ability.
    • The RDX first generation vehicles are powered by turbocharged gasoline motors, which was rare among Honda cars now. It was also one of its generation’s only four-cylinder luxury SUVs.
13. NSX-R GT (JDM):Honda developed a more flexible, flexible, and faster, restricted edition NSX-R called the NSX-R GT after the release of the facelifted NSX-R. Honda created the NSX-R GT exclusively to meet the demands of the Super GT production-based race car homologation.

• Since JGTC regulations needed at least five manufacturing vehicles to compete with any race car variant, the NSX-R GT was therefore restricted to a manufacturing run of just five vehicles. The distinctions are not fully understood between the Second-Gen NSX-R GT and NSX-R.  Although a clear distinction is the addition to the car’s roof of a non-functional snorkel.
• There is also a widened body and lower suspension of the NSX-R GT. Also used were more aggressive aerodynamic elements like an expanded front spoiler lip and a big rear diffuser. The NSX-R GT was thought to include more weight savings over the   NSX-R.

14. Acura CSX:For the Japanese domestic market, the Acura CSX, or Honda Civic, was an Acura entry-level luxury car intended solely for the Canadian market. The CSX is the first model of Acura with two predecessors, the EL and the Integra sedan. Like the EL, it was constructed in Ontario, Alliston, and Canada and only accessible in Canada.

• In 2012, the ILX was introduced as the replacement of the CSX, now available in both the U.S. and Canada. It is not a rebadged JDM Honda Civic, but rather a Canadian-designed CSX and was chosen by Honda Japan as the template for the JDM Civic. Outside, with the American Civic market, the CSX shares its cab forward architecture.
• Differentiating the Acura from its North American mainstream counterpart includes a shaped headlamp clusters with a slightly longer nose, a full-width reduced intake of air and a slight dip in the centreline of the hood.
• The standard features of the touring model include anti-lock brakes, 16-inch alloy wheels, leather-wrapped steering wheel and the vehicles are also available with audio controls, curtain and side airbags, heated door mirrors with embedded turn signals, paddle shifters available for the automatic transmission models, CD / MP3/WMA 6-speaker audio system, cruise control, automatic climate control and chrome door handles.

15. Acura ARX-02a:Acura constructed the Acura ARX-02a which was a Le Mans prototype so as to compete in the American Le Mans Series LMP1 category. Acura was the second Le Mans prototype to compete in the LMP2 category, following their ARX-01. Unlike theARX-01, the ARX-02 is a custom-made LMP intended by Wirth Research completely for Acura. With the bigger strength created with P1 guidelines, the initial 3.4L V8 were extended to 4 liters for greater durability and drivability.

• A chassis was developed by Wirth Research to create as much mechanical grip as possible in order to solve the energy deficit generated by the ACO, by exploiting the small mass of the engine (low compared to bigger diesel engines).

16. Honda NSX:Honda NSX is a mid-engine sports car produced by Honda, marketed in North America as Acura NSX. The 1st-generation prototype premiered under name NS-X (the development code) at the Chicago Auto Show in 1989, representing the categories of “Sportscar”, “Experimental”, and “New”.  The name of the prototype was subsequently accepted as the manufacturing model’s official title, with a slight shift to NSX.

• The two-seater rear-wheel drive was Honda’s first all-aluminium body vehicle. It featured Honda’s VTEC system created in the 1980s, powered by an all-aluminium V6 engine. The NSX was produced between 1990 and 2005 in Japan and it was then discontinued.
• In 1997, it underwent a quality upgrade that saw the introduction of a bigger 3.2 L V6 engine and a facelift in 2002 before it was discontinued in 2005. Models from North America were marketed as the Acura NSX.

17. 2008 NSX Mugen RR concept:Honda revealed a Honda NSX Mugen RR concept car at the 2008 Tokyo Auto Salon, which included 335/30R18 and 255/35R18 tires, enlarged front, multi-grooved rear diffuser and a big, adjustable rear wing as well. The Mugen NSX RR concept is driven by a modified Honda 3.2 L V6 motor and has also shifted its mounting position to longitudinal from transverse.

• The shift in the mounting position, made in-house at Mugen’s plant through a custom sub-frame, mounts, transmission, and other main elements, enables better energy transfer to its rear wheels and exhaust flow that passes directly out of the car’s rear rather than under the engine and out.

18. Acura Integra:One of two cars launching the Honda-derived luxury car business was the Acura Integra. Under the premium brand available with a five-door or three-door fastback-like sedan body style, the Integra was launched in 1986.

• The Acura Integra’s first-generation model rapidly built a reputation for combining luxury convenience and sportiness with characteristics like pop-up headlights
• The second-generation Integra embraced fixed headlights and in 1992 a performance-oriented GS-R was launched.
• In 1994, Acura Integra’s third and final redesign included a four-round headlight appearance. The Integra was substituted by RSX, a sport coupe, the last made in 2001. Later versions of the Acura Integra were sought-after among the import tuner audience on the pre-used vehicle market, primarily owing to its VTEC engine.

19. Acura CL:The Acura CL is a coupé produced from 1997 to 1999 by Honda’s Acura brand and from 2001 to 2003. The CL is seen as a substitute for the Acura Legend coupé, but with the introduction of the TL in 1996, which substituted the Vigor straight, the CL is more accurately a TL coupe.

• At the Honda plant in Marysville, Ohio, all Acura CLs were constructed alongside the TL and the Honda Agreement on which the Acura CLs were based. The CL was America’s first Acura to be constructed. The Acura Legend coupé vanished from the Acura line-up after the end of the 1995 model year when the rename of the sedan version was done as Acura RL.

20. Honda Vigor:It was a premium sedan which was sold through Honda Verno network in Japan from 1981 to 1995 which was derived from Honda accord and then in North America it was sold as Acura Vigor from 1992 to 1994. The earlier Vigors were considered as the upmarket versions of Accord and served as Honda’s flagship.

• The Vigor would further distinguish itself from the Accord in 1989 with its distinctive design and an accessible five-cylinder longitudinal engine was launched with the Honda Inspire, which was accessible at Honda Clio dealerships. Subsequently it has been replaced by the Acura TL in North America and the Honda Inspire/Saber in Japan.

All the models of Acura are amazing and have a long history of the best and most successful models.