Honda was caught testing the 2021 Legend with the recently announced Level 3 semi-autonomous driver assistance system. The Japanese carmaker aims to become the first to mass-produce vehicles with Level 3 automation and the first car to feature this technology will be the facelifted Legend, which is expected to go on sale in Japan by the end of March 2021.
Honda has been awarded the necessary
certification from the Japanese government to use a Level 3 system legally on a
road car, meaning that the upcoming facelifted Legend will allow drivers to
take their eyes off the road with the company’s ‘Traffic Jam Pilot’ engaged.
Carscoops spies spotted a couple of test cars
under development, showcasing some of the additional hardware necessary for the
system to work. Things like additional cameras and sensors can be spotted
mounted low in the front bumper, as well as on the sides of the rear bumper. At
this point, we’re not sure if the door mirrors also feature extra hardware or
if they just have a supporting mirror just for development purposes.The 2021
Honda Legend with the Level 3 Traffic Jam Pilot system will be obliged by the
Japanese government to have a recording device that gathers data on the
operating conditions of the semi-autonomous system.
According to Japan’s safety standards,
Honda’s new Traffic Jam Pilot “must warn the driver of the transfer of control
(handover) back to the driver and must continue safe driving until the handover
is completed. When the handover cannot be made, the equipment must safely stop
the vehicle.” The JDM Honda Legend is basically the same car with the Acura
RLX, which will be discontinued in North America after the 2020 model year.
