Acura RL History

The RL succeeded the Legend for the 1996 model year as Acura's range-topping four-door, initially sold as the 3.5RL with a naturally aspirated 3.5-liter V6. Despite strong features and reliability, the first generation lagged behind German competitors and the fast-rising Lexus GS in sales. A redesigned second-generation RL debuted for 2005 and introduced SH-AWD — Acura's Super Handling All-Wheel Drive, a torque-vectoring system that became a hallmark of the brand — as a standard feature. The RL was discontinued after the 2012 model year and replaced by the RLX.