Acura Celebrates 40 Years Since America Launch
Photos by Ben Kuhl, Albert Wong & Norm Vitale
On March 27, 1986, Honda Motor Company officially introduced its high performance Acura cars onto the American Automotive market stage, leading with its now famous Legend and Integra models. The goal was a challenging one; competing with the legendary cars of the USA’s most traditional best brands such as Lincoln and Cadillac, in addition to then-well established luxury and sports touring car models from European companies such as BMW and Mercedes Benz. The challenge: to carve a meaningful niche among American and European high-end touring vehicles, which at that time owned the hearts and minds of USA consumers from the mid-1970s to the late 1980s and beyond.
Exactly 40 years from the Introduction of Acura to the American automotive landscape, we arrive at Media Day for the 2026 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, where Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) and Acura showed off its 1986 Acura Integra number 40 Racecar, a homage to the racing spirit that helped establish the Acura brand in America. This tribute car started out life as a stock generation-1 Integra that was given a racing makeover, transforming its high quality touring pedigree into a true hot hatchback.
RacingVintageCars.com had the privilege of getting up close and personal with those who took the idea of throwback racecar from concept to reality. Project Manager James Nazarian took the time to walk us through the build process from stock 1986 Acura Integra to go-fast race-inspired track burner.
Inspiration for the car and its color came from Acura’s first IMSA version of this competitor, the number 48 Integra that was campaigned by Comtech, which would go on to win consecutive IMSA International Sedan Series Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ Championships from 1987 to 1990. And while the Acura number 40 isn’t a direct copy of its original IMSA-version competitor, the car’s soul is steeped in the racing pedigree started 40 years ago. For a full list of what was done to make the Integra 40 Racer come to life, the full press day release can be found here.
The fun didn’t stop there though. In addition to getting up close and personal with the Acura Integra number 40 Racecar, RacingVintageCars.com was invited to participate in a ride around lap of the Long Beach Grand Prix 1.97 mile racetrack with Formula Drift Champion, Pikes Peak Hill Climb winner and current driver for HRC in the IMSA TCR class, Dai Yoshihara. Join us here for a ride around the Long Beach Grand Prix circuit, courtesy of HRC USA, Dai, and all of the 120 hp that the Integra number 40 Racecar had on tap.
The compelling in-car lap provided spectacle in quick fashion with the Long Beach Grand Prix track’s famous “fountain section” flashing into view for a split-second and then disappearing as we flew by. After continuous snaking under bridges, past parking structures and around the Long Beach Convention Center, in what seemed no time at all we encountered the run-up to the hairpin, which we brushed by in what seemed like a millisecond. Clearly, the best way to drive the Integra 40 Racecar was to keep momentum and rpm up, which Dai did in spades!
In talking with Dai about the car, he highlighted the modest horsepower and low weight of the Integra 40 Racecar as being what made the car very fun to drive. From inside the car was the sense of being in a fully race-prepped car from the racing seats and 5-point harnesses to the sterile lack of much else inside the cockpit.
And with that, media day 2026 for the Long Beach Grand Prix was concluded — but that was just the start of this year’s Long Beach Grand Prix race festivities! RacingVintageCars.com will be at the pre-grid, fast corners and busy paddock of the 2026 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, with more coverage of the vintage IMSA GTU/Trans AM class that will precede the 2026 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
