The 2024 Acura Integra Sort S ups the giggle issue

I begin laughing as I speed up onto the oval check monitor at Honda’s Tochigi analysis and improvement middle in Japan, and I don’t cease till I take the exit two laps later. The reason for such automotive glee: a prototype drive of the 2024 Acura Integra Sort S.  

The reborn Integra would be the fourth Acura to get the Sort S remedy, and through this fast drive it wears the badge effectively. Acura has been a little bit mum on specs, saying solely that the two.0-liter turbo-4 will push out greater than 300 hp. If that sounds acquainted, it’s as a result of the Honda Civic Sort R can be outfitted with a equally specced energy plant that makes 315 hp. Whereas neither Acura nor Honda has confirmed that the 2 efficiency vehicles share a coronary heart, having pushed each I wouldn’t be stunned.

My check automobile is camouflaged, so it’s powerful to provide visible particulars of the Sort S, however the silhouette doesn’t look totally different from the usual Integra at the moment in dealerships. The entrance and rear fascias are the identical and the rear spoiler doesn’t look any bigger on this Sort S. Nevertheless, this high-performance Integra will get a cool center-exit triple exhaust. Whereas the center outlet on the 2023 Honda Civic Sort R is larger, and these are all the identical dimension, it’s one other clue that this Integra Sort S and the Civic Sort R are carefully associated.

Earlier than my check drive started, Acura PR people advised me to maintain the velocity to 95 mph on the steeply banked corners, however I overlook their rule as quickly as I shift out of second gear. The acceleration right here is so sudden that every one I can do is chortle like a maniac. The sound coming via the cabin is equally startling, rumbly however with the tell-tale woosh of the turbocharger. I virtually yell “VTEC simply kicked in, yo,” however I’m unsure the Japanese engineer sitting subsequent to me would get the joke.  

The 6-speed guide gearbox is a dream with crisp throws and a properly weighted clutch. I let the revs scream up towards the redline earlier than easily upshifting. I’m approaching the primary steeply banked nook and, channeling my interior Richard Petty, I refuse to carry. 

I really feel like I’m tilted fully sideways on the monitor’s banked nook, however images present I might have pushed increased on the banking. I threat a look on the speedometer and thru my shrieks of pleasure I yell, “I’m at 105 miles per hour!” I absolutely count on to be ordered off the monitor for breaking the velocity restrict by 10 mph, however my engineer co-dawg simply says, “It’s okay. You may go quicker.” Problem accepted!

Coming onto the straight, I pin it and shift to sixth gear. Now I’m at a smidge over 126 mph and the Integra is monitoring bang-on straight. There is no such thing as a twitchiness to the steering and nothing feels mild. In Toyota-speak, the automobile feels very “grounded to the bottom.”

With a full straightaway behind me, I faucet the brakes, downshift to fifth and take the flip, a bit increased on the banking this time. I’m not scrubbing a ton of velocity, so it’s powerful to essentially discuss in regards to the power of the brakes. Acura has coated the model identify on the pink calipers, but it surely’s in all probability protected to imagine the entrance calipers are from Brembo as they’re on the TLX Sort S. On this restricted check drive, all I can say is that they really feel agency and linear. 

It’s additionally powerful to speak about how the Integra Sort S handles. A limited-slip differential sits up entrance, however this oval monitor doesn’t put it to use a lot. I’m turning left, not operating a street course. Will probably be nice to get the Integra out on a again street to essentially see what it could actually do.

My two laps come up rapidly and earlier than I do know it I’ve to exit the check monitor. My laughter has not lessened nevertheless, and I’m 100% certain the engineer thinks I’m certifiably insane. Positive, the little Integra has much less energy than the TLX Sort S with its turbo V-6 powerplant, however I’ve nonetheless had an exhilarating time behind the wheel. 

Acura hasn’t launched pricing on the 2024 Integra Sort S, solely saying that it’ll arrive in dealerships subsequent summer time. If I have been to hazard a guess, I’d say this top-performance Integra will begin within the mid-to-upper $40,000 vary, a number of thousand above the $43,990 Civic Sort R. I sit up for a full drive of the Integra Sort S to see if it could actually ship much more giggles when the turns go left and proper.

Acura offered airfare, lodging, and monitor time for Motor Authority to deliver you this firsthand report.

—By Emme Corridor