Image: Honda
Acura quietly continued Honda’s tradition of offering factory-made touring cars. The luxury brand introduced a factory race version of the Integra Type S for touring car racing called the Integra Type S DE5. Sadly, the Type S DE5 is sold out.
The Integra DE5 is another in a line of factory grand touring race cars made by Honda Performance Development (HPD). In recent years, Honda’s performance arm has made racing versions of the 10th generation Civic Si and Type R and current 11th gen Civic Si called the Si FE1. All were made available to purchase by those who were wanting to race them.
The Integra Type S DE5 was made to compete in the TCX class of the SRO TC, a Skip Barber racing championship. Acura is also seeking approval for the Type S DE5 to compete in Canada’s Sports Car Championship series.
For the not-so-tidy sum of $125,000, you got a touring race car based on the current Integra Type S. However HPD took everything and dialed it to 11. The body shell is removed and all production components for the street are deleted. This means things like sound proofing, underbody coating, etc are pulled off.
Image: Honda
Upgrades are extensive and include things like an adjustable rear wing, full roll cage, HPD/Borla downpipe and turbo back exhaust, HPD radiator and auxiliary oil coolers, dual-axis MacPherson struts for precision steering control, HPD two-way inverted double adjustable dampers, Quaife sport sequential transmission with paddle shift, and AP Racing 372x34mm front brakes and 6-piston calipers.
Image: Honda
The biggest upgrades are made under the hood, of course. The Type S DE5 is powered by an HPD modified version of the Type S’2.0-liter turbocharged K20C8 I4 engine. It's reworked to produce what Honda says is “in excess of 360 horsepower” and 340 lb-ft of torque.
Acura accepted pre-orders for the Type S DE5 for a brief window in mid August- early September. Interested buyers had to drop $25,000. While it’s not known how many Acura planned to make, everyone they did make sold quick. The Integra Type S DE5 is currently sold out and it doesn’t look as if Acura is planning to make more. If you missed your chance, your best bet is to buy your own Type S and build a racer yourself.
Keyword: Acura's $125,000 360-HP Integra Type S Touring Car Is Sold Out