Acura Integra will get six-speed manual

ACURA has confirmed its upcoming Integra four-door sports hatch will be offered with a six-speed manual transmission in a new teaser video.

The video, with an engine soundtrack closely echoing that of the current Honda Civic Type R, gives the first real look at driveline specifications for the 2022 Integra.

Expected to share many components with the current Civic, it may share that car’s 1.5 and 2.0-litre VTEC Turbo engines under a coupe-like fastback skin that is yet to be revealed in full.

Several generations of manual-equipped Honda sportscars are shown in the video which opens with a close-up of a first-generation Integra’s gear shift.

The first-gen Integra revs out through first gear, the video switching to a second-gen model (the first to feature Honda’s legendary VTEC engines) for second gear and so on until revealing the newest model’s six-speed shifter.

A shifter and console matching that of the next-generation Civic Type R appears in the closing scene of the video, giving the best indication yet that a hardcore variant of the Integra will arrive in 2022, possibly topping a Type S variant in a nod to the Integra’s past.

Given the Integra will be based on the Civic, it means all-wheel drive – as offered as an option on the third-generation version – is an unlikely option.

Honda ruled out plans for an all-paw Civic by basing its upcoming small car on the existing model’s front-drive-only architecture but suggested a mild-hybrid setup may be offered.

Automatic transmissions are also expected to be offered in the next-gen Integra, though it is unclear whether Honda’s eight-speed dual-clutch or ten-speed epicyclic transmission will get the nod for its performance flagship.

Honda last sold the Integra in Australia in 2006. The fourth-generation Integra was offered initially with 1.8 and 2.0-litre naturally aspirated engines, the latter exclusively in the Integra Type R. Honda dropped the Type R from its Integra line-up in 2004, the 1-8-litre Type S soldiering on alongside the Integra Luxury until the nameplate disappeared.

Honda Australia is yet to confirm whether the new Integra is bound for local showrooms.

The new Honda Civic is expected in Australia before the end of the year with the sportier Type R to follow within nine to 12 months.

The mainstream 2022 Civic will be powered by a stronger version of the existing 1.5 VTEC Turbo engine and will be bolstered in the 2023 arrival of Honda’s e:HEV mild hybrid variant. The new Civic features a streamlined interior and ‘clutter free’ console its manufacturer says is more user-friendly than before.

“By evoking the human-centred cabin design of early generations of Civic, the interior of the new hatch is simple, clean and uncluttered with exceptional visibility, intuitive ergonomics, extraordinary passenger volume and driver-focused technology,” a Honda designer said previously.

Honda has sold just 2465 examples of the Civic (including Type R variants) in Australia this year, placing the Japanese hatch and sedan range in sixth place in its segment. The popular Small Car under $40,000 slot is currently topped by the Toyota Corolla (23,404 sales year-to-date), Hyundai i30 (19,134), Kia Cerato (14,802), and Mazda 3 (11,698).