Could Acura’s new sports car be getting the brand’s coolest tech?
Acura is reviving its iconic Integra sports car nameplate in four-door form. The brand already revealed the Intergra in close to production “prototype” form. But an apparent leak suggests Acura could have an exciting surprise in store for the production car, which should arrive very soon as a 2023 model year vehicle.
A user on the Integra Talk forum posted a screengrab purporting to be a document from the Acura of Brookfield dealership in Wisconsin describing the Integra’s capabilities. Per the document, those capabilities include the availability of Acura’s Super-Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD), one of the best-regarded torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive systems on the market.
Acura giving the Integra SH-AWD could make sense. The Integra will use the same platform and engine as the Honda Civic Si. The concept, inside and out, looks very much like a rebadged Civic Si. And the Integra won’t start that much more expensive than a Civic Si. Adding SH-AWD to the mix with the Integra — besides being awesome — would differentiate the two cars, helping the Integra feel more premium and more like an Acura product.
Acura has offered SH-AWD with a stick shift in the past. And that system could give the Integra a leg up to compete with direct rivals like the Volkswagen Golf R and Subaru WRX.
On the other hand, if Acura were planning to offer SH-AWD on the Integra, there wouldn’t be much reason to slow play what would be a focal point of its appeal ahead of the car’s launch. When asked about the leak, Acura noted to CarBuzz that the Integra would “continue a tradition of being one of the best driving, front-wheel drive vehicles on the market.” Honda also has said it has no plans an 11th generation Civic with AWD.
If the new 2023 Acura Integra ends up only being a slightly fancier version of the spartan Civic Si, that would still be pretty great.
Keyword: Wild Acura Integra Leak Suggests It Could Be Even More Fun Than We Expected