VTEC Just Kicked in: Integra Type-R Smashes Record at $212K

For nearly three decades, the Acura Integra Type-R has been tuner-car royalty. This giant-killing Japanese sport compact has long punched above its weight class in both performance and price compared to some of the all-time JDM greats. This week, the giant slaying comes on the (digital) auction block, where a pristine, 2001 model broke the long standing world record price at an eye-watering final price of $211,704 (the high bid before buyer’s premium was a more poetic $204,204). While we’re used to the legendary NSX bringing those sorts of figures these days, a front wheel drive four-cylinder is usually something else entirely. So, if you’re scratching your head asking why, let’s dive in.

While the “ITR” may sit high among the list of Japanese greats, to the uninitiated, it may need more explaining than a GT-R or a Supra. Honda started using the Type-R name for only its sharpest and finely tuned cars in the early 1990s, starting with the NSX-R. More than just a power boost, the Type-R improves the car in every way: lighter, stiffer chassis, sharper suspension and steering, with a finely tuned engine. A Type-R Honda should be viewed as a precision instrument, rather than grabbing a bigger hammer.

The Type-R treatment was exclusive to the Japanese market until 1997, when Honda exported the Integra Type-R under the Acura brand to North America. And, being a Type-R, it was far more than just a hopped-up Civic. Even calling it a hopped up Integra would diminish what this car is. The ITR is 79 pounds lighter the already sporty Integra GS-R model. The suspension is lower and given better dampers and the chassis greatly stiffened. The drivetrain was also beefed up with improved gear ratios, a helical limited slip differential and a Type-R-specific B18C engine producing 195 horsepower.

Driving one is like nothing else; it is a car that perfected the sport compact concept, and few cars have nailed it this precisely since. Everything about the car is sharp, from the precise shifter to the incredibly balanced handling and let’s not forget an engine that pulls all the way to its 8400rpm redline. It is a car which begs to be driven in a spirited manner and rewards those who do it well. Anyone who has truly experienced the ITR will assert it is the best front wheel drive car ever made, and it’s for a good reason.

So we’ve established why the ITR is so special, but what made this ITR the one to have? This is typically where we’d talk about its 4800 original miles and fawn over its immaculate condition. That absolutely helped the price, but the cherry on top is who owned this incredible ITR. The astute observer would have noticed that the car is out of the Real Time Collection Hall, which is without a doubt the best collection of Honda and Acura automobiles outside of Honda itself, all curated by racer Peter Cunningham. If you’re a fan of racing Hondas, that name should ring a bell. Cunningham has won a litany of world titles behind the wheel of a Honda product. Perhaps no American driver is better associated with the Honda and Acura than Cunningham.

To have the opportunity to own one of the best-condition ITRs in private hands, owned by one of the Honda/Acura racing greats, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. So nobody should be surprised to see the car set a new world record, over 50 grand more than the previous record for an ITR set in 2023. This is a real case of the right car bringing the right money.

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