The wild new Civic Type R is on its way, but will the Integra Type R return to Australia? Don’t hold your breath…
Honda has a rich history of high-revving banzai performance cars, and also the engineering know-how to create heroic modern-day revivals, the Honda Civic Type R and NSX supercar just two recent examples.
So is the Honda Integra Type R next? We certainly hope so…
These tantalising CGI renders created by Jordan Rubinstein-Towler reveal a compact coupe that looks as though it would give the Subaru BRZ and Toyota GR 86 a proper shellacking.
Blending the visual styles of all four generations of the two-door Honda Integra sports car – but mostly the third-gen DC3 – the unofficial renders should be enough to get VTEC fans frothing.
The digital designs show the Integra Type R fitted with a four-cylinder naturally-aspirated Honda i-VTEC combustion engine, perhaps an evolution of the Honda K20A block that was good for an 8600rpm rev limit and around 164kW.
We could also imagine this be-winged hero car propelled by Honda’s K20C1 turbo-petrol engine from the current CTR, which is about to be replaced by an even more potent Civic Type R, and is good for 228kW and 400Nm.
That’s enough gristle to see it accelerate from 0-100km/h in under six seconds.
Like all good Type R models from Honda, the reborn Integra would also feature upgraded Brembo brakes, big forged alloy wheels, sticky tyres, super-stiff suspension and, of course, a short-throw six-speed manual gearbox working in tandem with a limited-slip differential.
We like that the renders also include a reworked interior, which is pretty spartan with most controls pared right back – along with a hint of 1990s decor, except for the digital driver’s display.
Most Honda Type R vehicles also benefit from Recaro seats, so dial them into the fantasy too.
The Honda Integra was in production between 1986 and 2006, and while the Integra is technically back in production wearing Acura badges in the US, and Honda badges in China, the reborn new-generation four-door models are yet to be proven to be anything more than glorified Civics.
That’s not to say a new Type R isn’t in development, but what we see in these renders is a sharper, more aggressive, sleeker design that pays homage to the model’s ancestry while bringing the Integra into the modern era.
The front-end features sleek, slimline LED headlights flanking a tiny grille, below which is a gaping air dam to feed the radiator/intercooler surrounded by a tidy front apron.
The side profile is pure Integra, with a rising beltline, steeply raked rear window and de rigueur high-rise wing. The ultra-slim LED tail-lights are also an impressive homage to Integras of yore.
The new Honda Civic Type R and the next-gen Honda Accord are locked in for Australia, but Acura models are still locked out – including the latest Integra.
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Keyword: New Honda Integra Type R rendered