The Acura Integra rocketed to stardom in the United States near the end of the 20th century as a more luxury-leaning spin on the Honda Civic Type R, a formula that essentially involved wrapping all that Type R performance in bit more stylish skin. Almost as importantly, Honda didn’t make the Civic Type R available in the States, which means that the penultimate Honda performance machine of the decade sported an Acura badge.
The Integra nameplate took a bow in 2001 and was replaced domestically with the RSX, while the car itself finally departed in 2006. Now the folks at Acura are set to resurrect the car—and its original name.
Slated for ’23, the upcoming Acura Integra sticks with the formula that turned it into a legend in the first place. Based on the current Honda Civic Si, this reborn Integra will draw power from the same is a 1.5-liter turbocharged I4 as found in the Honda, likely with similar specs, too; the Civic Si turns out 200 hp and 192 lb-ft of torque. Acura previously confirmed that this new Integra will also feature a manual transmission.
If you’re up to speed on all things Honda Civic, the new Integra’s configuration won’t be a surprise, either. Limited to just a four-door hatch body style, you can bury the dream of reliving your two-door Integra R youth. That said, you won’t confuse the upcoming Integra with the current Civic. As attested by the images Acura has released so far of the Integra’s shape, it will sport a distinctly different look than is offered by its Honda counterpart.
Acura hasn’t given us a glimpse inside the prototype yet, and has yet to reveal much of the performance features of the upcoming production model, but from the shots of the prototype you can spot a set of color-matched Brembo calipers, which we would expect to make their way to the production model. That color is news, too. This prototype is finished in Indy yellow pearl, which Acura says is an homage to the classic Phoenix yellow color found on earlier Integra models.
More details will make their way to the surface as Acura gets this Integra ready for the road. Acura expects this to start around $30,000, which would put it dangerously close to the Honda Civic Si’s starting price. Of course, pricing could always change by the time this hits the streets next year.
Does the reborn Acura Integra live up to the hype? Let us know your thoughts below.
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