AutoHunter Spotlight: 1994 Acura Legend GS 6-Speed

Featured on AutoHunter, the online auction platform driven by ClassicCars.com, is my 1994 Acura Legend GS 6-speed.

The Legend was ranked as Acura’s flagship model starting with Acura’s launch as a performance and luxury division of American Honda in 1986. At the conclusion of the car’s second generation in 1995, the top-ranked sedan became known as the 3.5 RL. However, the original Legend lives on for enthusiasts like me, which is part of why the National Acura Legend Meet is still gaining momentum after nearly 20 years of annual meet-ups.

The Barrett-Jackson studio in Scottsdale, Arizona, has showcased some of the world’s most exotic automobiles, including a $3.4 million Mercedes-Benz Gullwing and a $2.9 million Bugatti Chiron earlier this year during the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale 2024 Auction in January. My moment in the spotlight came a few months later, when I was privileged to park my humble 1994 Acura Legend in that same spot. The opportunity was the culmination of nearly two years of restoration work on the car, and I was honored to have Dustin W. Johnson from CCN Media shoot some glamour shots of my pride and joy.

Acquisition and Background

My experience with today’s car started out with a comment on my YouTube channel in 2022 from a subscriber in California who asked if I wanted a “sedan twin” to the green Legend coupe I’d recently restored. I took the opportunity and ran with it, leveraging many of the same resources from before.

The car is a Sherwood Green Pearl “GS,” which was the top trim for the 1994 and 1995 Legend sedan lineups. It stickered at over $41,000 at the time, and when new, it was aimed at rival luxury brands from Europe and Asia, despite the fact that it employed a V6, front-wheel-drive powertrain while other executive sedans had V8s. Unique to the GS was an available slick-shifting six-speed manual transmission.

Scope of Work

Luckily for me, the work that this Legend needed was primarily cosmetic in nature. The effort started out with a full strip-down and repaint by the skilled team at Apex Wet Werks in Phoenix. The project included the removal of trim, moldings, bumpers, and lighting. Apex even replaced a door and a fender with better-condition parts I supplied for an optimal finished product. I had the factory spoiler added to the decklid for a little extra flair.

Inside the cabin, I employed the skills of Naro at Trim Fit Upholstery. Naro spent several months re-skinning the seats in leather while retaining the factory “look” with gathered inserts. He also reupholstered the center armrest. The burlwood center console and the steering wheel were refinished by Craft Customs in Rockwall, Texas. These brought the cabin up to proper spec.

A finishing touch included the installation of a newly refinished set of 16-inch wheels from Express Powder Coat. Traction comes from a set of Michelin Defender tires, and a full-sized matching spare tire is included inside the trunk.

Aesthetics out of the way, the car was ready for mechanical sorting. I had Hon-Man Auto Care perform a timing belt and water pump service. Hon-Man also cleaned out the exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system. The EGR is a known critical maintenance item on second-generation Legends. The C32A Type II V6 in the car is a replacement used engine with true mileage unknown, but it runs well and has a fresh oil change as of September 2024.

Grand Finale

Relatively few people will ever get the honor of driving their personal vehicle onto the studio floor at Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale, but that’s what happened in July 2024 once the Legend was completed.

I can’t thank Barrett-Jackson Digital Media Manager Tim Heit enough for his hospitality in opening up the space for my 30-year-old Acura. Dustin Johnson worked his magic with the camera, and I finally got to sit back and admire the car I had worked hard to bring back to life. It is with that same pride and passion that I will now pass the car on to its next owner.

Highest Bid Takes It

A magazine ad for the Legend called it “The difference between enjoying time on the road and doing time there.” Another said, “If only your commute were longer.” The theme of both was the same: Every mile (and every minute) of a drive should be rewarding. The Legend was engineered to blend confidence-inspiring handling, respectable performance, and creature comforts into a package deal.