When the Acura Integra made a surprise return to North America a few years ago, it failed to capture our imaginations at first. Other than being a four-door liftback thing when all the most memorable Tegs of old were two-door coupes, it was only when the Type S version arrived, with its Honda Civic Type R drivetrain, that we suddenly started feeling a bit sore that it’s something we can’t buy in Europe.
We might start to get even more jealous soon because Acura has shown off a hardcore, stripped-out concept version of the Integra Type S that previews a possible future line of performance parts to get even more out of its excellent platform.
Acura Integra HRC Prototype – interior
Shown off during Monterey Car Week, it’s called the HRC Prototype. HRC stands for ‘Honda Racing Corporation’ – the unified outfit that oversees most of Honda’s global motorsport programmes.
HRC’s US wing has also overseen the development of this concept, which throws a whole load of aero at the Type S. There’s a bigger splitter, beefed up front cooling ducts and bonnet vents, a new diffuser and, most noticeably, that enormous adjustable carbon fibre rear wing. The car’s finished in Indy Yellow Pearl, a shade from the original facelifted NSX.
Acura Integra HRC Prototype – rear
For weight reduction, the bonnet and rear doors are now carbon fibre. The front seats have been replaced with some very racy carbon Recaro buckets. The rear bench is gone altogether, replaced by some bracing and a carbon shelf designed to stow four wheels, so you don’t have to worry about driving home from a track day on destroyed rubber. Apparently, the air-conditioning can be optionally deleted (weird for Acura to talk about options on a concept car, right…?). All in, it sheds nearly 90kg from the Type S.
It also sits 15mm lower on new coilovers, and the rear anti-roll bar and front and rear camber plates are adjustable. Forged 19-inch wheels sit at the ends of a 30mm wider track at both ends, while the front brakes now have enormous 15-inch rotors driven by six-pot callipers.
Acura Integra HRC Prototype – wheel carrier
Finally, the 2.0-litre turbocharged engine benefits from a bigger intercooler, twin oil coolers and a lightweight cat-back exhaust, although Acura doesn’t tell us the exact gains over the Type S’s 320bhp and 310lb ft.
Officially, this is just a concept, but Acura says it previews ‘potential’ future performance parts that owners can grab for their Integra. There’s also the option to sign up for future information about this so-called concept car, so… yeah. Want to take bets on how long before we see a production version?
