After 16 years, Acura revives its legendary model in the concept of dashing “lighters” of the 80-90s with brutal mechanics. Under the hood is a 1.5-liter 200-horsepower turbo engine and no bad electricity. Read more about the car with powerful roots in the article by Gazeta.Ru.
The Acura brand does not call the launch of Integra anything other than “the return of a brand icon.” There is a lot of self-promotion in this, but there is something that the British call the beautiful word heritage – that is, heritage. However, the current fifth generation and the previous fourth generation of Integra, in addition to 16 years of production timelessness, are separated by a colossal technical abyss.
And we can only speak directly about ideological continuity. Even the body is no longer a coupe or sedan, but a practical five-door liftback with a huge trunk. And this, of course, already shows a certain safety net from Honda aimed at a wide audience.
The five-door’s exterior is certainly inspired by previous Integras, including the original one that helped launch the Acura brand.
Fans will be pleased that all the body elements of the car are their own, that is, without unifications with other models of the brand that cheapen the image.
The design of the front panel, unlike, by the way, older cars, is focused not only on the driver, but also on the front passenger, who, if desired, can easily reach the 10.2-inch display with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functions. The tunnel houses a wireless charger for a smartphone. The owner is unlikely to need modifications to the audio system,
In the list of achievements of the new product, the Japanese include front airbags that are innovative in the segment for the driver and front passenger, specially designed to reduce the risk of traumatic brain injuries and neck injuries.
The wide lower hole at the bottom of the bumper is not fake; it supplies air to the intercooler of the turbocharger. There are other features of a sports car – for example, thanks to the air intakes, air curtains are formed around the front wheels, smoothing out the oncoming air flow. There is a front aerodynamic “skirt” and a rear spoiler integrated into the trunk door.
Under the aluminum hood is a 1.5-liter 4-cylinder turbo unit producing 200 horsepower (192 Nm). Peak torque occurs at 1800-5000 rpm, which in theory provides quick throttle response and easy “breathing” of the engine at the apex of a turn.
It has a short stroke, low gear ratio and automatic speed control. In sports mode, the stated response time to manual shifting is 430 ms. Additionally, the speed selection system “blinks” on the dashboard when the electronics understands that it is better to switch to a lower gear.
Since the steering wheels have a lot of traction, the Honda team took into account the issue of so-called parasitic steering, or in common parlance – “steering” of the front axle. To maintain controllability in the manual version, torque is transmitted to the axle shafts through a helical limited slip differential.
However, for smooth drivers there is a more compromise option – a standard Honda CVT tuned for driving pleasure. In the USA, where the car premiered the day before, the cost of the model starts at $32 thousand (about 2.2 million rubles at the exchange rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation).
Where do the roots of the legend come from?
Those over 40 years old and if they have at least a little gasoline in their blood will well remember models such as the Mazda RX-7, Nissan Skyline, Toyota Supra and many others. These are the so-called JDM models (from Japan Domestic Market – cars for the domestic market) – the essence of a Japanese marketing phenomenon that arose in the 1980s and reached the “zero”.
In most cases, these are compact front-wheel drive coupes, less often Japanese-made sedans and roadsters, with refined handling and engines that are powerful enough for their light weight. Actually, low curb weight in relation to a unit of power was the Japanese’s great weapon against heavy and clumsy American muscle cars.
When Honda launched the Acura brand in 1986, its equivalent of Lexus for the US market, it desperately needed a car that would immediately win the attention of Americans spoiled by plenty. A compact, sports car with truly Japanese reliability and character – this is exactly what the Integra became, which paved the way for Acura in the most competitive (at that time) market in the world.
