While recent comments by Honda president Takeo Fukui indicate Acura might add a V8 engine to its lineup, a new report suggests such a motor won’t arrive nearly as soon as expected. Rumors have indicated the new rear-wheel-drive 2011 RL will get a V8, but company insiders say eight cylinders won’t be an option until 2015.
Mr. Fukui’s recent statement that Acura would introduce a V8 was a general indication of long-term intent, rather than a near-term goal, sources told Edmunds. Currently, the company is aiming for a 2015 model year introduction for a V8 engine, the report says.
If Acura is going to wait five or six years to introduce its first V8, we can’t help but wonder if the program will inevitably be scrapped all together. We suspect the focus on smaller, turbocharged gasoline motors, hybrids, and pure electric cars will make a V8 a hard sell in 2015.
Honda of Europe has made it clear it has zero intention of brining a V8 to European markets, and with American attitudes shifting more toward efficiency, we’d be surprised to see an automaker chose half way into the next decade to introduce its first ever V8.
The good news for performance-minded car shoppers is Acura is planning to gradually switch its entire lineup to a rear-wheel-drive architecture over the next several years. As noted above, that will begin with the 2011 RL, which will offer a choice between a traditional RWD layout, or a RWD-based version of Honda’s SH-AWD system.
