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What Edmunds.com Says:Rear-wheel drive and a V8 engine should help, but the 2011 Acura RL really needs distinctive styling if it's going to compete against Germany's finest.
What We Know: Honda has been listening to the word on the street very carefully, because it has finally decided to give the 2011 Acura RL luxury sedan a V8 to help it compete with strong rivals in the U.S.
One source tells us that Honda is currently working on a 420-horsepower 4.8-liter V8, and will employ the same cylinder deactivation technology we see on the current Japan-spec Inspire V6, thus generating class-leading fuel economy figures.
But unlike the current RL, which sits on a front-wheel-drive platform and features Honda's SH-AWD four-wheel-drive system, the all-new RL will instead incorporate a rear-drive platform, one necessity that Honda planners have clearly identified in this segment, and a reconfigured SH-AWD system that engages the front wheels when rear traction is compromised.
Slated for a mid-2010 debut, the new RL is expected to land in showrooms wearing a higher price tag than the current model.
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