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Type-Cast: Acura 3.2CL Type S vs. BMW
330Ci Acura builds a 260-bhp ultra-coupe to take on the BMW 3 Series. BMW responds by fitting a larger engine. This could get
ugly.

By Douglas Kott
Photos by Ron Perry

It’s a matter of record how Honda brazenly
upstaged its Japanese competitors by forming
the first upmarket luxury division, Acura, in the mid 1980s. The automotive press was
wowed by the cars’ velvety levels of
refinement and sybaritic helpings of luxury.Yet through the years, Acura’s mid-level offerings have been as conservative as a cardigan sweater in a roomful of Republicans.
Admittedly, there are bona fide fire-breathers at the lineup’s extremes—the Integra’s Type R variant and the limited-production NSX are two prime pulse-quickeners—but none between the bookends has seriously trespassed on BMW’s premium sports/luxuryterritory (and let’s add heavy emphasis to the “sports” part).

Until now, that is.
Lexus has ignored the “Stay Out” signs and
charged through the razor wire with its IS
300, a fine-handling adversary in the 4-door
ranks. And now, on the coupe front, Acura’s
new 3.2CL Type S has infiltrated the
compound and glares at the BMW with all
the snarled-lip disdain of Dirty Harry.
The new CL finally has some attitude (unlike
its predecessor, a relatively harmless
Accord-based, pseudo-boattailed number)
and the means to back it up. Key to the new
confidence is a 3.2-liter sohc 24-valve V-6
whose peak output of 260 bhp is just 10 bhp
shy of the original NSX’s, and a healthy 35
bhp more than the base CL’s V-6 of the
same displacement.

“How?” you ask, and rightly so. Atop its
aluminum block’s 60-degree vee is a larger
dual-resonance intake plenum fed by a
bored-out throttle body. While both base CL
and Type S engines use Honda’s VTEC
system on the intake valves (VTEC increasing
both their duration and lift for high-rpm
operation), the Type S’s transition point is
higher (4800 rpm vs. 4400), and the “fixed”
exhaust-valve lobes also have a more
aggressive profile. Compression is raised to
10.5:1 (from 9.8:1) through a domed set of
aluminum pistons. Farther downstream, spent
gases exit more easily through a
larger-diameter exhaust system said to offer
CL’s.
Not a company to sit idly by while a
competitor crams more power underhood,
BMW saw fit to increase its venerable
twincam 24-valve inline-6’s displacement
from 2.8 to 3.0 liters—and found an
additional 32 bhp (now 225) in the process.
In hot-rod parlance it’s been “stroked,” with 2.8 mm greater distance between the crank’s centerline and each rod journal, accounting for the extra 200 cc. BMW also alters cam timing through its double-VANOS system, not by swapping lobe profiles but by adjusting both intake and exhaust shafts relative to their drive sprockets,independently and in near-infinite increments.
Also, careful optimization of intake-tract
tuning has maximized the natural
resonance-supercharging effect, all netting thenew 225-bhp rating.
With these two intriguing engines, bolted into equally interesting sports coupes, we set out for Buttonwillow, California (Heart of CottonCountry, it says on the sign), for a two-day road trip that incorporated a half-day of photos and lapping, utilizing the East Loop of the Sports Car Club of America’s technically challenging Buttonwillow circuit. From there, we headed
for the hills, specifically those of Highway 58,a sinuous ribbon that slashes, heaves and
twists past horse ranches, straw-covered hills and oil rigs, connecting Interstates 5 and 101with 90 miles of asphalt heaven, with nary a slogging Winnebago in sight. And then it was back through the grind of L.A. traffic, with the slow-and-go allowing ample time to judge low- velocity temperament (both human and mechanical) and creature comforts.

For our test, we wanted the sportiest-possible variant of each car. For the Type S, this meant a 5-speed automatic with the sequential SportShift feature (the only gearbox offered), and V-rated all-season Michelin P215/50R-17s. By contrast our 330Ci was fitted with the $600 sport package, which in addition to buying more aggressively bolstered sports seats, purchases a handsome set of Motorsport-design 17-in. alloy wheels shod with Continental ContiSportContacts, size 225/45ZR-17 front, 245/40ZR-17 rear. And there are three pedals in the BMW’s footwell, coinciding with the ZF 5-speed manual transmission. Is this an apples-to- oranges pairing? Not the way we see it, as Honda knows how to build—but chose not to fit—a perfectly nice full-manual box.
Acura 3.2Cl Type S 2nd: 90.4 points

Based on Honda’s so-called Global Midsize
Platform that’s shared with the Accord and
the mid-luxury TL sedan, the 3.2CL Type S
backs up its power with presence—it’s 2.0
in. longer overall and a half-inch wider than its predecessor, riding on the same 106.9-in. wheelbase. It’s understatedly aggressive, with long hood/short rear deck proportions, a fast roofline and a noticeably pointed beak that sharply contrast with the BMW 3 Series’ snub nose, deep-set beady headlights and
traditionally more upright greenhouse. Where
the BMW looks athletic and chiseled, the
Acura is more svelte, a sense furthered by its length (some 15 in. longer than the Bimmer) and broad-spoked 17-in. alloy wheels that are handsome enough, but really lack the visual punch needed to set off bodywork that’s toned, not ripped.
As mentioned before, the true muscle lies
behind the pentagonal grille, mounted
transversely and driving the front wheels.
Squeeze the accelerator into the carpet, and the VTEC- enhanced V-6 launches the CL with respectable scoot, yet it’s not until the lumpier intake-valve lobes come into their own at 4800 rpm that you can hear that deep-chested, NSX-like induction gulp, accompanied by a linear push toward redline that never hints of weakening.

Using the SportShift sequential gate of the
5-speed (which also permits a more
solid-feeling shift than the standard D mode), the Type S stormed to 60 mph in 6.7
seconds—quite respectable, although lagging a half-second behind the BMW. No doubt, the Acura’s relative heft (at 3510 lb., it weighs in about two passengers heavier than the 3130-lb. German) resists being put into motion. Come the quarter mile, the uptown Honda narrows the gap: 15.0 sec. at 95.2 mph, versus the BMW’s 14.8 at 95.4 mph.
So the lesson here is, if you’re an Acura Type S owner, don’t race for pink slips…or at least really polish your reaction times. But our road-course experience (and redemption?) was yet to come.
With the Type S’s relatively narrow
P215/50R-17 all-season Michelins, extra weight and weaker brakes (the front rotors, at 11.8 in., are an inch smaller than the BMW’s), a quick lap was all about scrubbing straight-line speed a little earlier, maintaining the front tires’ adhesion on corner entry and making the most of the power on the short chutes and straights.

Road Rage

Er, hello, doesn't that TL Type-S have two doors? Could it possibly be a .....CL-S?

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Rage On!
2000 TL w. Comptech header/exhaust
SSR Integral A2's
17x7 45mm offset
Pirelli P7000 (Summer) 215-50/17
Fender lips rolled

TL-S on order: Silver/NAV

bombs

Yes, review is for CL not TL
TL is not direct copy of CL features either. From my read, the suspensions are slightly different and brakes may be larger than what is reviewed here

Webologist

This is a really funny article. Their competition states they were surprised they got better acceleration leaving the shifter in drive. This Gomer held the CL Type S back. The competition (MT) got 0-60 in 6.4 seconds. The pink slip comment should read: don't race a CL Type S with your 3 or 5 series BMW if it is one of the majority with an automatic trans and a 6 cyl (M3 excepted). Be sure you have a 3 litre with a manual and a subcompact 3 series if you want a chance of beating it.

Regards
W-