I.C.E. CAROF THUNDERSANDJACKHAMMERSWith names like these, you can be sure this Legend will blow you awayChoices are something that wedeal with on a daily basis. From thesimplest of things such as pickingan item off the lunch menu, tocontemplating if you should takethat long-awaited Europe trip.The same can be said whenshopping for a car. Japanese,Korean or European; sedan, coupeor hatchback; inline-four, V6 or flatfour.The choices are pretty muchnever-ending. Most would often gofor one that’s the friendliest on thewallet and drinks the least fuel.But what if you wanted an AWD3.5L V6 ride that encapsulates brutepower and superb handling all inone Japanese-made luxury sedanpackage? Well, there’s the HondaLegend.A Rare GemOur first encounter with the car sawus scratching our heads and tryingto figure out what model it was. Itfinally dawned upon us as we gotround the back. The sheer size ofthe car was unlike most Japanesesedans and rumour has it that thereis only a handful roaming our streets.Of course, a premium level modelwould weigh considerably morethan most other sedans. To makeup for its increased weight, a 3.5Ltransverse-mounted V6 sends290HP to all four wheels.The Super Handling-All Wheel Drive(SH-AWD) was first introducedto the Legend back in 2004 andas Honda puts it, “SH-AWD is asystem that provides corneringperformance that responds faithfullyto driver input, and outstandingvehicle stability”.So with power and handling alltaken care of by the guys at Honda,what else is there to improve on?That’s right, make your journey amore enjoyable one by sprucing upthe ICE system!Getting Down to WorkWith that in mind, the car wasentrusted to the good people atRobin Audio Technik. Plans weremade and it was eventually decidedthat the car would be built to enterSQ competitions. After carefulthought, MTX Audio productswere chosen for their high qualityand accurate sound reproduction.Known as one of the pioneers of thecar audio industry, you can be wellassured that the eventual results willcertainly be more than satisfactory.A Bit One digital signal processorwas selected for fine-tuningpurposes. Easy access to controlsof inputs and various other functionscan be to via the convenient DRC(digital remote control) which ismounted just beside the steeringcolumn.Reproduction of the sweetest tuneswas then left to the set of MTXThunder Axe TXC 6.1 componentspeakers. Part of the high-endrange of component speakers fromMTX Audio, it promises the ultimatein sound quality and accurateimaging. Of course, no matter howgood a set of speakers may be, itwill be deemed useless without aproper amplifier. For that, a pair ofX-Thunder amplifiers was picked.Besides their visually attractiveexterior design, within the uniquealuminum construction lies hugeheat sinks and easily accessiblecontrols for reliability and ease ofusage.Competition DebutDuring the recent IASCA Car AudioCarnival 2011, the Legend provedits worth by taking 1st place in theMTX in-house category and 3rd inthe below $6000 category. Despitethis being its virgin entry in SQcompetitions, a well-balanced setupthanks to the expertise of RobinAudio Technik and MTX Audioallowed the Legend to blow awayits competition.With two trophies from its first outingalready under its belt, you can beassured that this wouldn’t be thelast you’ll see of it.AWD 3.5L V6-powered Honda. Not a common sight I must sayPhotographer Bryan Law / Metamorphosis Production26 AUGUST 2011
Bit One externally mounted DRCTein EDFC for easy suspension adjustmentsPremium MTX Thunder Axe componentsD1Spec VSD IVCleanly mounted Hertz subwooferFast Facts: Honda Legend3.5L Auto (KB1)UNDERCARRIAGETein Coilovers w/EDFCI.C.E.Audison Bit One, MTX Thunder Axe TXC6.1, MTX X-Thunder 704X 4X105W, MTXX-Thunder 502X 2X75W, MTX JackhammerRFL1200D Monoblock, Hertz ES250AUGUST 2011 27
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