When Acura announced it was bringing back the Integra, a lot of skeptics pondered whether it would be a true sport sedan, faithful to the original, or a humdrum crossover cashing-in on the Integra’s legacy.
Well, now that Acura has pulled the wraps off this prototype, we can breathe a sigh of relief.
Let’s address the elephant in the room first—the prototype is a four door. And the press release uses the phrase “coupe-like” to refer to the roofline a few times, which leads us to think that there won’t be a two door in the lineup.
But that’s no surprise and really not that unprecedented. After all, you could get four door Integras back in the day too. And the new Integra’s rear doors and liftback adds a ton of practicality, which was one of the pillars of the early “hot hatch” scene anyway.
Under the hood, Acura says, is a turbo 1.5L VTEC “high output” four. We had to check our notes, but yup, it’s the first time an Integra has ever come stock with a turbocharger.
Not sure what turbocharging means? This article may help: Forced Induction 101: What’s the Difference Between a Turbocharger & Supercharger
While we’re not 100 percent sure, the motor sounds a lot like the one in the Honda Civic Si, so we’re thinking it’ll make around 200 horsepower and 190ish lb.-ft. of torque. Hopefully Acura engineers get the go-ahead to squeeze a few more ponies out of it.
More good news: Acura confirmed there’s a six speed manual on the options sheet, hooray!
There’s also an available limited slip differential—which should be worth its weight in gold when controlling traction in a 200+ hp front-wheel drive car.
And if you look close, you can see Brembo brakes peeking out behind the 19 inch wheels.
But perhaps the best news is that, at a proposed price tag around $30,000, the Integra still appears to be in the sport compact budget ballpark.
….Which should leave plenty of scratch in your pocket for a bangin’ Clarion head unit with CD changer, and a pair of Kicker 15s in the hatch.
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