HRC (formerly HPD) is showcasing a line of street and track-focused performance parts for the Integra Type S.
With 320 horsepower on tap and a 6-speed manual transmission, the new Acura Integra Type S is already a godsend for a lot of enthusiasts out there. For those same enthusiasts, though, the experience never stops at just buying the car: You have to get some upgrades. To that end, Honda Racing Corporation (known as Honda Performance Development until late last year) debuted the Integra Type S HRC Prototype at The Quail during Monterey Car Week, bringing engineers’ technical expertise to bear on possibly bringing out a line of performance parts for buyers.
“Every Spec of the Acura Integra Type S HRC Prototype screams performance,” says HRC senior vice president Jon Ikeda. “Everything is functional — if it doesn’t add performance, it isn’t on the car.” Overall, the racier bits actually help drop the Integra Type S’ curb weight by 200 pounds, Acura says, to a respectable 3,000 pounds or so. That lighter profile comes by way of carbon fiber replacements for the hood, door panels, Recaro bucket seats, and completely removing the rear seats in favor of a shelf to fit a spare set of wheels and tires on the way to the track. There’s also a painted X-brace running right across the rear bulkhead, since this aims to be a bona fide track weapon. The air conditioning system is also out, which likely comprises the lion’s share of this HRC Prototype’s weight loss right there.
The Acura Integra Type S HRC Prototype also brings in beefier components under the body. It gets two oil coolers, a bigger intercooler, an exhaust system and suspension components straight from the TCX race car, front and rear camber plates and an adjustable rear anti-roll bar. With new springs and dampers, the HRC-developed prototype also sits 0.6 inches lower than the standard Integra Type S.
While you do get the same-sized 9.5-by-19-inch forged wheels as the stock model, there’s more negative offset that widens the front and rear track by 1.2 inches. The HRC Prototype also gets beefier 15-inch, six-piston Brembo front brakes to replace the standard four-piston setup — there’s an indication how much room you have to upgrade your brakes with the standard wheel size — and sticks on a set of Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tires.
Acura did not say whether any of the upgrades actually bolster output beyond the 320 horsepower and 310 lb-ft the standard model provides. Nevertheless, you’d be able to make better use of that power on the track with this sort of upgrade path, if you’re willing to completely grenade the hatchback’s more practical side.
We’ll have to wait and see what, if any, of these parts make it out to the parts catalog for interested Integra Type S buyers. It’d be a boon to have some options beyond what former HPD packages offered, which mainly just focused on appearance bits over outright performance.
