[2][3] The Legend was a result of a joint venture with Britain's Austin Rover Group called Project XX that started in November 1981 with the Austin Rover-Honda XX letter of intent signed by the two companies to replace the Rover SD1 and to provide a luxury vehicle for Honda.

One of the novelty items was a simple volume control rocker switch and a pre-set radio station channel selector installed on the instrument binnacle within reach of the right hand; the opposite side of the instrument binnacle had a button to open, tilt or close the standard equipped glass moonroof with sun shade.

Due to the success Honda had with the Legend, it served as an inspiration for the Subaru Legacy with which it shares many visual resemblances and dimensions both inside and out.

In late 1988 for the 1989 model year, the sedan received some minor tweaks, upgrading to the one-piece front headlamps already in use in Japan since the 1985 introduction, a revised front bumper, trunk lid, tail light cluster, and an upgraded double-wishbone rear suspension, with a new alloy wheel appearance.

It was also joined by the Acura Vigor which set the stage for the larger second generation Legend introduced October 1990.

The core structure and chassis design is also common to both cars, however the Rover version has its own exterior panelwork, interior and electrical systems.

In Japan only, Honda installed a turbocharger with variable geometry in the Legend with the smaller 2.0 L V6, called the "Wing Turbo" for model year 1989.

Second generation units became available October 24, 1990, now using a 200 hp (149 kW) SOHC (C32A) engine mated to either a standard 6-speed manual or an optional 4-speed automatic.

The second generation Legend was a larger, more streamlined-looking car (drag coefficients were actually higher at 0.34 for sedans and 0.32 for coupes).

The design was referred to as a "fuselage" shape, and had rear-wheel drive proportions which were possible thanks to the use of a longitudinally mounted engine; unusual for front-wheel-drive automobiles.

[8] The Legend offered a host of features seen on luxury cars of today including dual front driver & passenger airbags (standard on 1991 Legend LS, 1992 L and LS trims), speed-sensitive steering, hands-free telephone, automatic climate control, heated leather seats, heated mirrors, four-wheel ABS disc brakes, seatbelt pretensioners, and electric soft-close doors (coupe only).

The higher-end LS cars added automatic climate control, a power four-way passenger seat, burled walnut interior trim, and body colored side moldings.

1993 also saw the addition of dual airbags as standard equipment in all trims, the deletion of the black molding on the entry-level cars, and a new wheel design with fewer spokes on the sedans (16-spoke vs. 20-spoke).

[8] Added for 1995 was the limited-production 'SE' sedan, which was essentially a Legend 'L' with a two-tone paint scheme, pre-1993 15-inch 7-spoke 'LS' coupe wheels, "Special Edition" floor mats, and an automatic transmission.

[9] The Legend was a very successful vehicle to launch Acura as a separate division, and combined with sales of the Integra this resulted in Acura outselling[citation needed] longtime luxury marques BMW and Mercedes-Benz as well as Toyota's new luxury division Lexus.