2024 Acura Integra Type S Prototype First Drive Review: It’s Gonna Be Good

Beginning with the 2017 NSX and persevering with by the Kind S variants of right now’s TLX and MDX, every successive Acura debut will get the model nearer to the aim of recapturing its “precision-crafted” picture from the Nineteen Eighties and Nineties. And now there’s the aggressively styled and properly priced Integra, which compensates for its low-ish 200 horsepower with the identical light-on-its-feet character that made us fall in love with the unique.

However many critics simply can’t look previous the considerably disappointing energy score of the Integra – though the compact Acura five-door continues to be satisfying sufficient for us to place it in competition for considered one of our 2022 Star Awards. Nonetheless, we’re not alone in wishing the Integra had a bit extra energy and a few additional efficiency verve. To not fear, as a result of the Integra is the subsequent mannequin to make good on the automaker’s promise to Kind S all of the issues. I received behind the wheel of an early prototype for 2 all-too-brief laps of Honda’s Tochigi testing oval, however even in that brief period of time, it was clear that that is the automobile Acura followers have been ready for.

Quicker Teggy, Quicker

Acura isn’t sharing full powertrain particulars or product specifics simply but, saving these for the automobile’s official debut subsequent yr. However I can inform you that the 2024 Acura Integra Kind S will include a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four making “greater than 300 hp,” mated completely to a six-speed handbook transmission. If that sounds acquainted in any respect, that’s as a result of the 2023 Honda Civic Kind R comes with the same set of specs – 315 horses and 310 lb-ft to be exact. It appears seemingly the Integra Kind S will match that output, simply as the usual Integra matches the Civic Si.

What these numbers can’t inform you is simply how thrilling the Integra Kind S sounds. Exhaling by a hilariously outsized trio of center-mounted exhaust pipes, the Acura prototype idled like an previous British sports activities automobile, with a booming resonance that promised good issues for efficiency. That suspicion turned out to be correct because the journalist simply earlier than me took off within the Integra with a full-throttle rip by the primary few gears – the Kind S snarls like a chopsaw because the revs climb. It additionally sounded nice because it flew previous on the Tochigi oval’s straightaway, with extra small-displacement fury than any Acura product for the reason that bygone Integra Kind R.

Finally, it was my flip to slide behind the wheel. Regardless of the added energy beneath the hood, the Kind S prototype’s clutch is gentle and straightforward to learn, and its six-speed handbook gearbox is as excellent because the one in the usual Integra. The engine revs extra readily than the 1.5-liter turbo within the base automobile, unleashing its full 300-plus hp in a linear, amateur-friendly vogue – turbo lag is minimal. There’s additionally some added low-end torque and a typical limited-slip differential, which have been each plainly evident as I exited the pit lane and put the hammer down.

The Integra Kind S I drove was restricted to 125 miles per hour – more likely to shield the prototype from a speed-happy journalist – however the manufacturing mannequin will seemingly go quicker than the bottom Integra’s 135 mph. Cruising in fourth gear, I used to be capable of gently elevate off the throttle for Acura’s steered cornering velocity of 90 mph, then explode out to hit 125 once more in a couple of seconds. And the Kind S’ stability by these banked corners was spectacular. Now clearly, I want much more seat time than these two left-turn-only laps to make a definitive assertion, but it surely’s clear that the 2024 Integra Kind S goes to be far more thrilling.

Shrouded In Thriller

Along with driving impressions, Acura can be conserving specs near its chest till nearer to the automobile’s debut, probably on the New York Worldwide Auto Present subsequent spring. Other than the promised turbocharged 2.0-liter and the six-speed handbook, we don’t know a lot else in regards to the Integra Kind S. However it’s seemingly the automobile will boast adaptive dampers with extra aggressive, track-focused settings than the common Integra. I didn’t expertise any torque steer in my time with the automobile, so it’s potential the Integra Kind S will inherit the dual-axis entrance suspension from the Civic Kind R, with stiffer rear suspenders to match.

Apparent on the prototype regardless of its logo-bespeckled camo wrap have been distinct wheel arch flares, there to cover a wider entrance and rear monitor. I hope these flares are faired into the fenders on the manufacturing mannequin, as a result of on the prototype, they appear a bit tacked on, however regardless, the new Integra boasts a hunkered-down stance that appears completely Kind S–acceptable. The prototype I drove didn’t characteristic a lot in the best way of aerodynamic add-ons. There’s a barely bigger lip spoiler on the decklid, in addition to a reshaped entrance bumper and a diffuser in again, however the Integra doesn’t look almost as aggressive as its Civic Kind R cousin.

That subtlety ought to serve the Kind S effectively because it goes after the Audi S3 and Mercedes-AMG CLA 35. Its obligatory six-speed handbook could also be a bit much less technologically superior than the German rivals’ automated gearboxes, however that’ll enchantment to of us who nonetheless need to DIY however would quite have a extra mature providing than the bombastic CTR.

Gimme, Gimme Extra

Though Acura hasn’t dedicated to any particular timing, the automaker stated the 2024 Integra Kind S would arrive subsequent summer time. Pricing is unknown, however keep in mind that the present Integra with the six-speed handbook – which additionally requires including the A-Spec and Expertise packages – is $8,100 greater than a Civic Si. Hopefully the Kind S gained’t comply with go well with when in comparison with the Civic Kind R, which begins at $43,990. A worth a lot greater than $45,000 would put the Integra dangerously near the $46,995 of the Audi S3 and $48,950 of the Mercedes-AMG CLA 35 (each of which come commonplace with all-wheel drive).

If Acura can preserve pricing in verify, the Integra Kind S guarantees to earn the respect of auto lovers in every single place, even ones who might have dismissed the reborn Integra as too gradual or too much like the Civic Si. As for me, I like the present Integra, and the 2024 Kind S variant has me all of the extra excited for each the compact hatch household and the Acura model as an entire.