Who Makes Acura Engines?

Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Japanese luxury brands didn't really exist, at least not in the United States. Nissan had yet to establish Infiniti as its upscale brand, which only happened in 1989, when 51 dealerships opened across the country. Toyota went for the premium market in 1989, too, with the launch of the Lexus brand. But before either one of those brands was established in the U.S., Acura was selling luxury versions of Honda vehicles as early as the spring of 1986. 

The first Japanese luxury brand in the U.S., Acura started out with just a few vehicles like the first-generation Legend and Integra, but it's significantly expanded its lineup since then, with lots of sedans and SUVs, plus a few supercars, like the iconic NSX, sprinkled in there for good measure. While they're technically separate brands with different nameplates, Honda continues to build the engines that power Acura vehicles, which the company builds right here in the United States.

Throughout the two companies' shared history, Honda and Acura vehicles have shared a lot of iconic engines. Versions of both the venerable B-Series and K-Series engines powered Honda and Acura vehicles, and that trend continues to this day. For example, the Honda Civic Type R currently has a K-Series engine, namely a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that makes 315 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque. It's the same engine that powers the Acura Integra Type S, where it puts out 320 hp instead. The Integra has a unique exhaust, which is what gives it the extra 5 ponies, but they're essentially the same engine.

A little lower down the ladder, the standard Acura Integra uses a turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine that it shares with the Honda Civic Si. The compact Acura ADX SUV we reviewed a while back shares its underpinnings with both the Integra and the Honda HR-V, and has the same engine that powers the Integra. The story is similar across many Honda and Acura vehicles, just like it is with the Nissan/Infiniti combo and the Toyota/Lexus connection.