Apart from Lexus, Japanese luxury brands still pale in comparison to their German rivals in terms of the number of models they produce. As demand for premium cars continue skywards, execs at both Infiniti and Acura are keen to see product lines expanded. One Infiniti exec revealed his company was planning to have ’10 or so’ models by early next decade and now Acura’s product planning manager John Watts has revealed plans for several possible new models.

Some of the cars Watts hinted at include a new coupe to replace the original Acura CL that was dropped after the 2003 model. Other options include a retractable hardtop as well as a RWD V8 sedan. The car on everybody’s lips, however, is the replacement for the NSX supercar, which was previewed in concept form last year and is due to hit the streets in 2010 or 2011.

One of its main problems is a lack of badge-cred. In a recent interview with Automotive News, Acura’s executive vice president John Mendel explained that “as a brand, Acura is not there yet.” To overcome this, officials have established a separate R&D team from Honda as well as a new Acura racing team that's competing in the American Le Mans Series.