Honda-owned Acura premiered the new Integra for the 2023 model year with Civic Si mechanicals. In other words, 200 horsepower and 192 pound-feet (260 Nm) at 5,000 revolutions per minute will have to make do, channeled to the front wheels by either a CVT or MT.
The 2024 model year Integra will be offered with a bit more punch in the guise of the Integra Type S. Technically similar to the Civic Type R, the luxury-oriented liftback has been confirmed to pump out 320 horsepower and 310 pound-feet (420 Nm) of torque.
As opposed to the Civic Si-twinned Integra, the Integra Type S will be offered exclusively with a manual transmission. Acura couldn’t make a case for a continuously variable transmission like that of the Integra or the dual-clutch box of the preceding ILX.
To be revealed in April 2023, just prior to the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, the Integra Type S will obviously sell for a premium over the Civic Type R. For reference, the Civic Si retails at $28,500 and the Integra is currently listed at $31,300 sans destination charge.
The production-spec prototype in the teaser video below appears to be painted in Tiger Eye Pearl, an exterior finish that costs $600 for the TLX Type S sedan and MDX Type S sport utility vehicle. Zooming in on the fine print reveals that optional accessories are featured. One such option is the Tiger Eye Pearl exterior finish.
Knowing Acura, the Integra Type S may also come with standard alloy wheels and optional forged alloy wheels. In the case of the Civic Type R, the Honda brand currently offers four accessory packages, namely the $150 Protection Film, $700 R Protection Essentials, $950 R Interior Driver’s, and $5,350 R Performance.
The latter costs that much because it adds the aforementioned 19-inch forged wheels and a carbon-fiber wing spoiler. As standalone options, said wheels and wing spoiler cost $3,100 and $2,250 at press time.
Similar to the Civic Type R, the Integra Type S boasts a three-exit central exhaust system. But as opposed to the Honda-badged sibling, the more luxurious alternative features equal-diameter finishers as opposed to a slightly larger central finisher compared to the outer finishers.
The only true segment rivals for the Integra Type S in North America come from Volkswagen and Hyundai in the form of the Golf GTI and Elantra N. The Volkswagen Golf R and Toyota GR Corolla don’t count because all-wheel drive offers a huge advantage over an FWD setup.
For future reference, the Civic Type R presently retails at $43,295 excluding freight. Volkswagen wants $30,530 for the 241-horsepower Golf GTI and Hyundai charges $32,900 for the 276-hp Elantra N. Given that Acura is positioned higher than Honda, the Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 Coupe may also be considered a segment rival. The sedan-bodied CLA 45 Coupe kicks off at $55,900 with 382 horsepower on tap from a turbocharged 2.0L mill.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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