by Chris Chilton
- A first-generation Acura Legend sedan with just 30,000 miles is up for auction.
- It’s for sale in the Netherlands, having been exported from the United States.
- Power comes from a 2.7-liter V6 that sends 160 hp to the front wheels only.
It’s not every day that you come across a first-gen Acura Legend as original and well cared for as the one in these photos. But the chances of coming across one where this car is located are almost zero.
That’s because Honda never marketed its posh Acura brand in Europe, preferring to sell the Legend there with an H on the grille. But this white 1989 sedan was shipped over from the US at some point (having been originally sent to America from the factory in Japan), and is now being offered for auction out of the Netherlands.
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The Dutch auction car appears unusually well-preserved, with no hint of the rust that ravaged so many Japanese cars of this period. According to the Hoog Selections listing, it’s covered just 30,800 miles (49,600 km) since new and still wears almost all of its original Cream White paint. The beige cloth interior also looks remarkably fresh and there are no visible cracks in the dashboard top.
Still present is the original Acura hi-fi with built-in graphic equalizer, and one particular feature that would have been alien to most European drivers at the time: a driver’s airbag. The whole thing looks good enough to have been displayed at Acura’s recent Long Beach Grand Prix retro dealership.
Japanese With A British Connection
Under the hood sits a V6, which the listing describes as a 3.2, though we suspect it’s actually a 2.7, the 3.2 not arriving until the second-generation Legend debuted in late 1990 from what we understand. Acura rated the 2.7 at 160 hp (162 PS) and 162 lb-ft (220 Nm), which is funneled to the front wheels through a four-speed automatic transmission.
That same powertrain was also offered on the Rover 800 sedan, the Legend’s British twin. Rover even sold the 800 in the US under the new Sterling brand from 1987, but despite it sharing much of its hardware with the Acura, reliability proved a major problem and Rover was forced to pull Sterling out of the US in 1991.
Japanese classics from the Eighties and Nineties keep gaining collector attention, and survivors this original are becoming genuinely scarce. This Legend might not scream for attention like an NSX, and as a sedan it isn’t as cool as the Legend Coupe, but its understated luxury and unusual cross-continental identity make it a charming curiosity for European Honda fans – and maybe US ones who’d like to bring it home.