The Future 2022 Acura Integra

This has been a time of revival for many brands in the automotive industry; from the Ford Bronco and the Land Rover Defender to our very own Type S. And that trend continues at Acura, with Acura brand officer Jon Ikeda “The Integra is back, I’m thrilled to say Integra is returning to the Acura lineup with the same fun-to-drive spirit of the original, fulfilling our commitment to precision crafted performance in every way–design, performance and overall driving experience.”

Now that I’ve given away the whole point of this article, let’s circle-back a bit to what makes the Integra announcement such an exciting announcement for the Acura brand, starting with the original Integra. The Integra was first released as one of only two vehicles available from Acura and didn’t fit the standard luxury bill; instead, the Integra found it’s home in the hearts of driving enthusiasts. The combination of agile handling, a low curb weight of about 2000 pounds, and 118 horsepower made for a nimble and fun to drive little sportscar. Add on that the original MSRP started at just $10,593 and the Integra was the perfect toy to wheel around in.

This passion continued for the Integra until it was sadly discontinued in 2006 after having moved from the Integra badging to RSX badging.

Skipping ahead to 2021, Acura was debuting the NSX Type S (as a final send-off for the soon-to-be discontinued NSX) at Monterey Car Week and suddenly a fleet of drones took to the sky, displaying three different shapes: The word ‘Integra’, 2022, and the outline of what appears to be a 2-door sporty coupe. Obviously this isn’t as telling as seeing the vehicle itself, but it appears that Acura will be going back to their roots of a fun-to-drive sportscar with (hopefully) a lightweight chassis, while adding some modern twists such as all-wheel drive according to MotorTrend. Additionally, Ikeda per MotorTrend stated the new Integra will likely be a hybrid, meaning a likely higher power output from a smaller overall engine.

From a pure speculation standpoint, Honda has been doing some amazing things with the Civic Type R and could carry over some of that performance, including the chassis and gearbox. However, that seems somewhat unlikely both based on the shape of the vehicle teased, the hybrid gearbox required based on the Ikeda statement to MotorTrend, and Acura’s commitment to differentiating itself from Honda. Rather, I’d hazard a guess that we’ll see a true return to a compact sportscar built with a fun to drive nature, possibly pulling on the Type S engine; Acura continues to push the bar as they bring their previous gen vehicles back into the lineup and I believe the Integra is the next step in that. Even the headlight teased on the official release is similar to the Type S, with some adjustments to likely differentiate the Integra.

Look towards later in 2021 and 2022 for more information on the 2022 Acura Integra and let our team at Acura of Wichita know if you have any questions we can assist with, whether you drive a classic Integra or look to purchase this future vehicle! But before we part ways, I wanted to leave you with this parting gift: a spy photo of a possible prototype Integra. No guarantees and you didn’t hear it from me.