By the time the new millennium rolled around, it was pretty much an open secret that automakers were only sticking to 276 horsepower on paper, yet they persisted in claiming the lesser figure.
In the era, some asserted that it was a show of unity; no automaker wanted to disrupt the harmony. Maybe it was simply great for marketing, as enough of the uninformed public would believe the 276-hp claims, see these cars destroying European and American rivals with a hundred horsepower more, and think the Japanese were gods among men. The real reason remains a secret, but we do know which automaker became the first to break the pact…
On October 7, 2004, Honda announced the new Legend (sold as the Acura RL in the US), with a 3.5-liter V6 developing 300 hp in Japan. It’s not known whether Honda broke the pact with the blessing of other automakers or not, but it’s believed that this was the tipping point, after which JDM cars frequently claimed over 300 hp, more in line with what these engines had been making all along.
