Back then you had boot Netscape or AOL and type www. to locate a website so I was impressed, but we were in Silicon Valley. And I knew this third-generation Acura was special, with its hand-built, non-turbo 1.8-liter engine making 195 HP along with suspension and brake modifications. The body was stiffened and lost 95-pounds of weight while crouching a bit lower to the pavement. A single exhaust pipe, just a bit larger than normal, poked out the back and a spoiler topped the trunk lid. Cool stuff for a factory to produce in that era. Obviously Acura had decided to capitalize on enthusiasm.

 

This week, the Platinum White 2025 Acura Integra Type S lurking in my driveway clearly brought back memories of the ’97 Integra Type R along with the scores of its cousins that were modified by tuner shops. Acura’s marketing team couldn’t help noticing their luxury rivals were selling performance versions of their cars with AMG, M, RS and other badging and collecting a hansom premium. Type S had become Acura’s performance moniker and turbocharged TLX a successful offering, followed with tuning up the MDX sports Utility. It was natural that Honda’s hot Civic Type R was a perfect candidate to transform into an Integra Type S.

 

The Type S tuning is even more adventurous than the 28-year-old predecessor, especially from visual cues. Our metallic white Integra contrasted vividly with a black chrome grille and window moldings, large black air intakes and wheels while in back, a black lower facia and air diffuser surrounded a three-trumpet exhaust. The Type S badging may be its most-subtle decoration.

 

Under the hood, a red cam cover with carbon fiber accents sits behind a big intake pipe and turbocharger that help make 320 HP from the nicely tuned 2.0-liter engine. And it’s connected to a six-speed manual gearbox with rev-matched downshifts to help the proud owners operate the clutch and lever like they’ve been race trained. The active damper suspension helps keep things precise, brakes are Brembo fitted and the 255/30 R19 performance tires make great contact. A warning notice asserts that these tires are not appropriate for ice and snow. No kidding! I had a handful with a few full throttle inputs on dry pavement. All-wheel-drive like the TLX would be a nice attribute but it would add both weight and cost to this cool hatch.

 

Inside you’re snugly fitted in well bolstered Ultrasuede sport seats and both shift lever and pedal trio are nicely placed for dynamic driving. The principal gauges are large and hooded and there’s an iPad-like screen perched for infotainment features that include connecting Apple or Android devices wirelessly. Adaptive cruise control helps handle road trips while the nicely tuned ELS audio system makes nice melodies in case the snarling pipes in back aren’t suitably amusing.

 

The price for all this Acura entertainment is $54,395 including destination and special paint. Luxury rivals in the same price range include Audi’s S3 and Mercedes AMG CLA 35, both sporting all-wheel-drive and my dark horse candidate is Cadillac’s CT4V with a bit more power and rear-wheel-drive.