The Exclusive 2023 Acura Integra Compact Sporty Car

Acura re-launched the iconic INTEGRA nameplate with a new sport, cooler standard powertrain, available manual transmission, and more.

2023 Acura Integra

2023 Acura Integra It’s not an ordinary year when you could say Friday the 13th offered a pleasant surprise to car fans, but that’s exactly what happened on Friday, August 13, 2021. Acura, in years of surprising announcements in the making, revealed the compact 2023 Acura Integra that is iconic.

The sports car is coming back in 2023. A drone view outlines ambiguous shapes in the California sky, and one teaser image shows a very modern Acura headlight with a classic “INTEGRA” embossed underneath.

Is Acura Making A New Integra

The debut of the Honda NSX Type S is still hot and still being talked about everywhere. A car whose presence is so eye-catching. The wave of the Honda NSX Type S has not subsided yet, the Japanese manufacturer is already preparing to provide a second wave.

Honda officially announced plans to release the legendary Honda Integra. This Honda Integra is referred to as the latest premium compact car and will be launched in 2022 later.

According to the company’s Vice President and Brand Officer Jon Ikeda, the Honda Integra has the same fun-to-drive spirit as the true DNA of this car. Additional details are scarce at this point, but the silhouette of the car appeared briefly during the debut event organized for the Honda NSX Type S.

The shape was shown as part of the drone show and it seems pretty clear that we’re dealing with a two-door sports car. The image contradicts last year’s rumors of a new Integra badge-badged compact sedan that was announced at a dealer presentation.

In this article, we call it Honda Integra even though in the United States market, as our colleague wrote as Acura Integra. Those who were saddened to learn of Honda’s plans to discontinue the Civic Coupe can now feel relieved.

The reason is, now it is known that Honda will launch its own two-door car. At least that’s what we can conclude from the short teaser.

However, we can only assume that the revived Integra will be based on the 11th generation Civic. Chances are, this latest Honda Integra will get power from the same engine as the manual Honda Civic Si.

It is estimated that the latest Honda Integra will be released in the spring of 2022. That is taken from Honda’s social media.

So, the latest Honda Integra will be the fifth generation but will only be released in 2023. It’s still a long time, so be patient. The teaser image shows the name of the car embossed on the front bumper, while the sharp LED headlights are very similar to the Honda TLX Type S.

When the car finally arrives, the Honda Integra will be an affordable sports car and be another alternative to the Subaru BRZ, Toyota GR 86, and Nissan Z. Although, the three cars have also been present which switch to the next-generation model for the 2022 model.

2023 Acura Integra Review

For several years now, Acura has been talking about returning to its “precision-built performance” roots. And no Acura’s roots go deeper than the 2023 Acura Integra. So while it’s surprising that the Acura Integra 2023 is returning to the ranks of the US automaker, it’s not. In fact, it makes sense.

One of two nameplates that Acura introduced when it launched as Honda’s luxury brand for the 1986 model year, the 2023 Acura Integra soon established itself as the vaunted Japanese version of the BMW 3 Series.

Delivering the same light, fluid and connected feel of a fine European car combined with angular styling, unusual pop-up headlights, and a useful hatchback design – all backed by Honda’s reputation for reliability – the original 2023 Acura Integra spawned an instant fan base.

And then, following the brilliance of the third-generation 2001 Acura Integra Type R, came the RSX, which is a fine Integra except for its name. And then came ILX, and the less you say it, the better.

We know what the new Integra 2023 looks like: small and fun. Otherwise, Acura will be heavily criticized for daring to bring back the 2023 Acura Integra nameplate and apply it to endless cars. But what form will it take? Will the two-door coupe replace the now-defunct Honda Civic Si Coupe? Will it be a five-door hatchback, mirroring the original Integra’s one configuration? Or will a four-door sedan, like the ancient ILX be replaced?

Most likely, the new Acura Integra 2023 will share its platform and architecture with the redesigned 2022 Honda Civic. That’s good because it’s a nice little car. It’s a good bet that it will sport the design language seen on the latest Acura TLX as well.

This is also good, because the TLX is a handsome machine. But, while all-wheel drive wasn’t on the menu for the original 2023 Acura Integra, the new one should definitely get some torque vectoring, the goodness of Super Handling AWD as an option.

We don’t have to wait long to see what’s up. In a matter of months, the Acura Integra 2023 will go on sale, although the exact time as of this writing is unknown. All Acura will say is that this is a “compact premium entrant” and will have a “2022 introduction.”

Read next: All-New Special 2023 Kia Sportage SUV Looks Incredible

2023 Acura Integra Interior

The biggest question on our minds right now is how many doors the 2023 Acura Integra will have when we’re allowed to see more of it. Remember, for most of its life, the Integra was available in two flavors and four doors.

We asked Acura Brand Officer Jon Ikeda, right off the bat, if the new 2023 Acura Integra would feature either setup (or both), and he offered a cryptic “maybe” in return.

Another piece of the puzzle is that the ILX compact sedan is in the ninth generation Civic and will be used for a bit longer. That said, with an 11th generation Honda Civic running around, the ILX couldn’t be too long for this world. Ikeda insisted that the 2023 Acura Integra was not a replacement for the ILX and that the Integra would be the brand’s entry-level vehicle. This could mean the 2023 Acura Integra eventually becomes the de facto ILX replacement when and if the model is finally retired at the end of the 2022 model year.

A true coupe would be a bold move in a universe where the sporty two-door is an endangered species, but it’s the body style most associated with Integra’s heyday, and that’s what we decided to render to illustrate this article. This is very different from the attractive rendering of 2023 Acura Integra that other talented artists shared with us previously (which was done before the new 2023 Acura Integra was announced).

2023 Acura Integra Specs

With the NSX on its way out (shipped in a delicious Type S version), the Acura lacks a true halo to flaunt its almost luxurious sporty aspirations. The MDX, particularly the all-wheel-drive model, offers great handling and has been a standout success for the company.

But even with the ILX Type S allegedly on the way, this compact sedan isn’t an image leader like the NSX. Instead, Ikeda tells us, 2023 Acura Integra will fill this slot.

Yes, that means the entry-level model in the Acura lineup will make its way to the NSX shoe. It had to live up to the sporty promise of its name—and do justice to its ancestors—to achieve this.

2023 Acura Integra Electric

The Integra will not be electrified at launch, nor will it offer the Type S variant initially. We expect an electrified version to arrive soon after the car’s release, and if the leaked Acura documents we saw earlier are to be believed, it’s also an Integra Type S.

Read next: The Revolutionary 2023 Tesla Hatchback

2023 Acura Integra Engine

Like the Integras of yore, the new Integra 2023 will be heavily based on the Honda Civic. This is a very good thing considering the advantages instilled in the new eleventh generation Civic, and the stunning performance of the current Civic Type R.

The Integra Type S 2023 will almost certainly make use of the Civic Type R’s dumpster. How the 2023 Acura Integra will be electrified is currently unclear. Perhaps the e-motor will be used on the rear axle in a hybrid all-wheel-drive setup, a drivetrain layout that is also rumored for the 11th-generation Civic Type R.

While most die-hard 2023 Acura Integra fans would love to have a naturally aspirated, high-revving inline four-cylinder engine, the most obvious choice is the 2.0-liter turbo-four found in the current Honda Civic Type-R. This translates to 316 horsepower (235 kilowatts) at 6,500 RPM and 295 pound-feet (400 Nm) at 2,500 to 4,500 RPM.

That said, the 3.0-liter turbocharged V-6 found in the TLX Type S isn’t out of the question either, as we don’t know how the car will look at this point.

Now that the NSX is gone, it doesn’t make sense for a four-cylinder-equipped vehicle to be a product of the brand’s halo, especially when they have a V-6-powered Acura TLX Type S.

On the other hand, the 2023 Acura Integra should also be relatively affordable, so sticking a 3.0-liter V-6 into something that will supposedly be based on the Civic platform could cost things a bit.

The original 2023 Acura Integra used only front-wheel drive. However, more and more automakers are turning to all-wheel drive, as it allows for better power delivery. With this in mind, the next Integra could feature Acura’s SH-AWD system, capable of delivering up to 70 percent of power to the rear axle and up to 100 percent to each rear wheel.

Fun fact: a while back, footage of an all-wheel-drive Civic getting ready for a rally surfaced on the internet. This turned out to be a Rallycross car, based on the current Civic.

With this in mind, Honda and Acura may in turn choose to use the SH-AWD system on-road cars smaller than the TLX. In addition, Acura’s SH-AWD system is one of the features that differentiates Acura from Honda, so it makes sense that the new 2023 Acura Integra should feature an all-wheel drive.

2023 Acura Integra Manual Transmission

This is especially true for the Type S or Type R versions. The original Integra DC2 had a close-ratio five-speed manual, which was a real treat. If Acura gave the upcoming Integra a manual, it would probably be the one used in the Civic Type-R.

It almost goes without saying that the 2023 Integra will be offered as an automatic as well. It will be an eight-speed DCT or a 10-speed automatic.

2023 Acura Integra Coupe

It’s better known for the NSX, but Acura built its reputation on the back of the more accessible 2023 Acura Integra. It was one of only two models in the original 1986 launch lineup, and it will be returning. Details are scant — the car won’t launch until Spring 2022 — but chances are it’s the same version of the ever-reliable Civic that won over car fans 35 years ago.

2023 Acura Integra Price

2023 Acura Integra Cost Integra is Acura’s entry-level model since it was first launched in 1986. As such, it needs to be priced accordingly. It makes sense that the base version starts at around 2023 Acura Integra MSRP $27,000, while the best-performance model shouldn’t exceed $40,000.

Is Acura Bringing Back The Integra

Is The Acura Integra Coming Back The Acura Integra is one of the most famous front-wheel-drive performance cars to ever leave Japan? After more than 20 years, Acura has just announced that in 2023 Acura Integra is coming back for the 2022 model year.

2023 Acura Integra Type R Specs

This could be as simple as catching a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder petrol engine like the Civic Type R, whose new version is expected to produce nearly 350hp. If so, expect a six-speed manual gearbox too.

The new Honda Integra Type R will have big boots to fill. The original is widely regarded as the best handling front-wheel-drive car ever.

Not just among his competitors, and not just in his day. The best. No pressure, then.

Exit mobile version