A whole generation of people will always look fondly at the Integra name whether they remember driving it in video games or seeing it drifting, racing, or featuring in magazines, it was ubiquitous and today has its own star in the car walk of fame.

What made it a success was down to a few different things, which we will cover below, it came from a different age – a golden age – of sports car design where engineers were both innovative and less impeded by safety, sustainability, and other concerns.

For the ultimate in driver engagement and 90s style, let’s see how much an Acura (or Honda) Integra Type R is today: the luxury brand from Honda making the ultimate Integra.

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For Big Fun And Simplicity, Try Integra Type R Is A Good Bet

Honda-Integra_Type_R-1998 Rear Quarter View
via NetCarShow

Called the Honda Integra in Europe, the Acura Integra was by 1993 in its third generation, one which looked much more modern and refined than the second generation and would carry on until 2001.

It was a front-wheel-drive car, but it was innovative and solved a few problems despite going against the classic American way when it came to horsepower, handling, and engine size.

For the Integra Type-R model, using a non-turbocharged, relatively-small 1.8-liter engine, it made around 195 hp and 130 lb-ft of torque, and revved to 9000 rpm, with a VTEC system (Variable Valve Timing & Lift Electronic Control) that really made it feel like a race car from 6000 rpm while providing better fuel efficiency and performance at different engine revolutions.

The classic 4-eye headlight design was not available in all countries but is the more interesting and timeless design, with small rims, a front splitter, and a rear wing completing the understated look.

Handling was excellent, the car is routinely referred to as one of the best front-wheel-drive cars of all time, and along with the lightweight body and powerful engine would be faster and more fun than more established cars with larger displacement engines.

0-60 mph would have taken somewhere in the low-6 second range, the transmission was a manual 5-speed, this really was the antithesis to cars that would later emerge as heavy, turbocharged, automatic performance SUVs.

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Acura’s Integra Type R Is Hard To Get Hold Of, Even Easier To Steal

The interior of the Type R, from the outside
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It’s well-documented about the Integra being one of the most stolen cars in the US over a certain period, which may go some way to proving its value as a sports sedan as well as showing how high prices have gone.

There was a weight saving for the Type R which was achieved by throwing away things like sound-proofing and certain non-essential equipment – even thinning the windshield – but there were structural improvements for rigidity and uprated suspension and drivetrain elements.

Today, the car will still be fun, but the cabin will look full of plastic and primitive, but you buy this car for the style, heritage, handling, and that engine.

Prices are high for this Japanese compact sports car and numbers are relatively low.

On a standard car classifieds website such as AutoTrader, the Acura Integra in its various non-Type R forms is up for around $6000, but there are a few Type Rs – all in yellow.

Prices for these are at $50,000 for an example with 81,000 miles, $39,000 for one with 187,000 miles, and $24,000 for 300,000 miles on the odometer: that should tell you a lot.

Classic.com puts the average sale price at $38,000, and Hagerty at $35,000, so in other words, the car is just about within reach of the working man; soon it will be gone forever to the land of hedge fund budgets.