Forty years ago, on March 27, 1986, Acura did something no Japanese carmaker had ever attempted: it launched a luxury brand in America. The Acura Legend sedan and the Acura Integra arrived in showrooms together, and the industry quietly shifted overnight. Learn the story of Acura cars with Gold Coast Acura.
A Brand Born from Precision
The name “Acura” derives from the Latin root "acu," meaning sharp or precise, a quiet promise of what the brand would deliver. By the end of its first year, Acura had grown to 150 dealers and become the best-selling luxury-performance import brand in the country. The decades that followed defined the rest: the 1990 Acura NSX, developed with input from Formula 1 legend Ayrton Senna and built around a VTEC® valvetrain.
In 2001, production began for the Acura MDX, the first luxury SUV with standard third-row seating. That year, it would also be named North American Truck of the Year. In 2005, Acura Super Handling All-Wheel Drive™ (SH-AWD®) was introduced, bringing a new level of capability to the luxury segment. Today, the lineup is epitomized by models like the Acura Integra Type S, with 320 horsepower, a manual transmission, and handling that’s renowned on tracks around the world.
How Acura Is Celebrating
To mark the anniversary, Acura debuted the Acura Integra 40 Racer at the 51st Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. The first-generation Acura Integra tribute build honors the Comptech Acura Integra No. 48, Acura's first race car, which won consecutive IMSA International Sedan Series championships from 1987 to 1990. A parade lap of 40 iconic vehicles from the brand's history followed, led by the Acura Integra 40 Racer itself.
Experience Acura History in Action in Ventura, CA
Forty years of Acura’s precision engineering is a story best experienced from behind the wheel. The next chapter is taking shape, with Acura's first two-motor hybrid-electric powertrain arriving in the next-generation Acura RDX. Visit Gold Coast Acura to see history firsthand with a test drive.
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