To indelicately ruin any suspense, the 320-hp, 2024 Acura Integra Type-S is a Honda Civic Type R for grownups. It’s everything—spec for spec—that makes the Type R so beloved in a more mature, buttoned-down, and tailored suit. It’s a Type R for old guys. The “S” must be for “Senior.”
It also carries a big boy, adult toy price tag.
The new Integra Type-S will operate in wet weather. Which is good.
Acura
That in mind, it’s so ingratiating. It mixes ability with a happy character and easygoing everyday usability. It has enough tech on board to satisfy anyone who bleeds Apple iOS, but is confident enough to require that the driver use three pedals. And it has the best shift wand this side of Glenda the Good Witch’s shoe zapper.
There’s No Place Like Home. There’s No Place Like Home.
It’s not a rerun of the old Integra Type R. Not even close. But it does recall that machine’s epic commitment to driving pleasure. Every tweak and change made to turn the regular Integra into a Type-S is biased to increasing driver involvement and rewarding that involvement with tactile satisfaction.
The ignorant could easily overlook the Integra Type-S as another commuter trout. In silhouette, it’s identical to the other Integras and that’s not much different from a lot of other small sedans. And the current Integra is—as all Integras have been since the 1986 model year—a Civic that’s been burnished to near luxury. But for those who know, there are plenty of distinguishing elements to the Type-S.
That’s the Integra A-Spec in white. The Type-S in blue.
First, this thing is wide. Using stamped steel front fenders and plastic flares in back, it’s 2.8 inches wider than a standard Integra and incorporates such aero tricks as big openings to feed the heat exchangers and a vented aluminum hood to facilitate air flowing through the engine bay. Acura claims that all the bodywork forward of the A-pillars is unique to the S-Type.
One neat element to the nose are the mongo-sized air portals on each end. They’re large but feed pipes that narrow until dumping in the wheel wells. They’re basically venturi tunnels built into the nose that cool the front brakes and provide downforce with a minimal drag penalty.
Thank you Acura of Santa Barbara for lending out the Integra A-Spec. And sorry about my dog pooping in the bushes.
The tail is spiced by a carbon fiber deck spoiler and the same three pipe exhaust layout as featured in the Civic Type R. Throw in the big wheels and tires and it’s a good-looking package with only some of the adolescent insouciance of the Civic Type R.
Identical Cousins
There is nothing mystical about the Integra Type-S’s mechanical substance. The chassis and suspension design is the same as the Civic Type R’s with a “Multi-Axis” MacPherson strut front and multi-link rear suspension. Both use the same 2.0-liter, turbocharged “K20C1” produced at Honda’s Ohio engine plant. All six forward gears and the final drive ratio of the transaxle are common. Both cars ride on 107.7-inch wheelbases, have the same front and rear tracks, use the same anti-sway bars fore and aft, are equipped with the same 13.8-inch front and 12.0-inch rear disc brakes, and both run on 265/30R19 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires around 19-inch aluminum alloy wheels. And yes, both use the same limited-slip differential.
Shifters don’t come any better.
Acura
But there are a few differences. Most obviously, Acura rates the K20C1 used in the Type-S at 320 hp while Honda rates the TypeR’s K20C1 at 315. The difference is that the Type-S is software optimized for 93 octane swill while the Type R is rated on 91. In many states, like California, where finding anything better than 91 octane is nearly impossible, the difference in engine output is meaningless.
The other differences are length and weight. The Acura lays out across 186.0 inches while the Honda is at 180.9 inches. And Acura pegs the Type-S at 3219 pounds compared to the Type R’s 3188 pounds. That there’s more than five inches difference in overall length but only 31 pounds difference in claimed curb weight is kind of astonishing. Particularly since the Acura carries more equipment and seems to operate more quietly.
Three pipes just like the Type R. The center one does most of the work. And there’s a resonator in the exhaust to add some rasp.
With all those numbers whacking about, there’s no reason to believe the Type-S will perform significantly different from the Type R. So, expect a 0 to 60 time of just under five seconds, some sticky adhesion on the skidpad (slightly beyond 1.0G) and solid braking numbers.
Manners Matter
Abuse the Type-S and it, like the Type R, will bite back. It’s still a front-driver with most of its weight on the nose. The wide tires and trick diff can’t compensate for determined stupidity.
The bronze wheels will be an accessory. Expect most early arrival Type S models to wear them.
Acura
In Sport and Sport Plus modes the steering is noticeably heavier than in normal and that’s fine. But for most of the time, the normal mode’s softer dampening is the best setting. Not every trip to Costco is a qualifying run. However, there’s also a customize-able “Individual” mode if your driving style is so peculiar it demands several weekends of futzing to get the thing to a satisfying point.
As in the Type R, the Type-S steering is a rapid 2.1 turns lock to lock. And the steering wheel itself is a relatively small diameter, so the car can be directed almost wholly by the driver’s wrists. It may be a bit burdensome in commutes, but it’s awful glorious when there’s hero work to be done. And quick steering doesn’t mean nervous steering.
Inner Mode
The Civic Type R’s interior is hallucinogenic; all red carpet and red trim and red stitching. It’s an acid trip geared to youngsters who long ago succumbed to TikTok addiction. But the Integra Type-S interior is more subdued and likely isn’t going to look 15 years out of date in three years. The materials are well chosen, the design is clean and the color palette is mostly timeless blacks, whites. and grays. The sort of interior anyone can drive into their forties without wondering if it was time to act their age.
A bit Shamu on the upholstery, but more conservative than the Type R.
Acura
Naturally all the electronic stuff is aboard. The most appreciated gadget is the head-up display that makes ground pounding a more straightforward act of concentration. If you care about lane keeping, radar cruise control and all the safety things, they’re here, too.
Stickered, Shocked, And Startled
Gack! The Integra Type-S is arriving at dealers soon with a starting base price of $51,995 (including $1195 in destination extortion). That’s $7105 more than the base price of the Civic Type R. But the purchase decision will be more complicated than that.
Nose appeal.
Dealers are getting more—a lot more—than MSRP for the Civic Type R. Like $60,000. Meanwhile, Acura dealers will be larding up their early arrival Integra Type-S vehicles with loads of accessories and likely won’t be shy about asking for big markups. Depending on how the market reacts to the Type-S, it may be that the real price difference between the Type R and Type-S isn’t that much.
So, it’s a great car. And you’d better have a grownup income to afford one.
John Pearley HuffmanSenior Editor
John Pearley Huffman has been writing about cars since 1990 and is getting okay at it. Besides Car and Driver, his work has appeared in the New York Times and more than 100 automotive publications and websites. A graduate of UC Santa Barbara, he still lives near that campus with his wife and two children. He owns a pair of Toyota Tundras and two Siberian huskies. He used to have a Nova and a Camaro.
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