It’s like driving a real exotic: the super-high-revving engine, rifle-bolt gearshift, rigid bodyshell and incredibly controlled suspension melding to deliver sensationally effective performance. It thrives on high revs, that classic VTEC kick hitting home at 6000rpm, from which point the fizzing four-cylinder emits a magical howl as the tacho needles homes in on and then passes 8000. You could almost wonder what all the fuss is about, but once that firecracker engine ignites, the humble Honda is transformed into a humdinger. Bushes were upgraded, strut braces were added and the rear anti-roll bar was thickened too.ĭrive the Integra slowly and it feels a bit flaccid. The Integra already had a decent set up but in this application shorter springs lowered the wishbone set up by 15mm while bespoke dampers were fitted. The Type-R would be homologated for racing (that’s what the R stood for after all) so the chassis was strengthened with extra spot welds and thicker metal around the rear suspension mounts. If you kept it on the boil very rapid progress was possible thanks to a chassis that had been equally finely-honed. It’s a typical VTEC unit, docile and unassuming at lower revs yet when the VTEC variable valve timing makes its presence felt at 6000rpm it switches character and unleashes its manic, joyous demeanour.
Even to this day it remains as one of the highest specific outputs for a naturally aspirated four-cylinder and it would rev to a glorious 9000rpm. These ministrations from Honda’s engineers elevated the Type-R’s engine output to a lofty 187bhp at 8000rpm and torque of 131lb ft at a high 7300rpm. Driven like a normal car it failed to excite, but get that VTEC four-pot up towards the top of its rev range and the Jekyll to Hyde transformation was complete with the sort of power to bring the chassis alive. But that all changed when the Integra Type-R came along. We knew that Honda was capable of making sublime sporting machinery – witness the NSX – but its mainstream offerings, in the UK at least, were nothing if not a little bland in the mid-1990s. > Honda Civic Type R review - ignore the looks, this is an astounding hot hatch
Even if you don’t see it as being the pinnacle of the front-drive breed you have to admire what Honda achieved with the first Type R to hit these shores.
Such a proclamation is bound to spark lively debate and while you might agree/disagree with the Integra’s abilities there’s no getting away from what a great package it was. One such car is Honda’s Integra Type R (DC2), a car that back in 2006 we proclaimed was the best front-wheel drive performance car ever. One that years after its debut is still revered as a brilliant piece of engineering, one that has stood the test of time so well that it wins plaudits for the way it drove, even against more modern machinery. Every so often a car comes along that’s truly groundbreaking.
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