Honda: “lot of enthusiasm” to build the wild Integra Type S HRC

Yuki Tsunoda apparently loves it. Wants it. Wants it immediately. “Yuki jumps out of the car and says, ‘you must send it to me, I will buy it, send it to Japan, I want to be the only guy in Japan that has this car’.”

‘This car’ of course, referring to the wild, track-honed Integra Type S HRC prototype that debuted earlier this year as a sort of rolling shop window for Honda's performance parts division, and is currently doing a fine job making a case for itself. That’s right – Honda’s thinking about building it.

“The public seems really excited about it, and we have the know-how at HRC [Honda Racing Corporation],” HRC Performance Parts’ general manager Rob Ray told TopGear.com at the LA Auto Show. 

What then, will it take to nudge this into a car you can actually buy? “It takes a production team and our company getting on board to say, ‘we can do this’. Whether that’s part by part, or packages of parts, those are potentials as well.

“We’re taking that information and we’re working through the product planning stages. We’re presenting bit by bit to our executives and it seems like everyone is excited, even inside the company,” he added.

Hard not to see why. It’s basically an American touring car: a stripped out, pumped up, wide-arched circuit racer that – according to Ray – will be adjustable to accommodate any skill level.

He wouldn’t confirm the engine tune, though. “I can’t talk about the engine,” he said, “but we do have dual oil coolers. What we’re trying to do is cool the engine down. I won’t discuss horsepower numbers just yet but stay tuned.”

Is that because the engine is still undergoing development? “You could say that. There are some things we’re working on in the future.” For some context, the car that inspired this HRC Prototype – the DE5 Integra racer – pumps out a hearty 360bhp from its 2.0-litre turbocharged four-pot, and if Ray’s talking about cooling it all down, it means there’s something red hot underneath. Watch this space.

The rest you know. It’s been stripped down by about 200lbs – a sliver over 90kg – thanks to plenty of carbon fibre, lightweight racing seats, and binning the rear bench (to make space for a set of “super stickies” to take to the track). The bodykit – front wing, skirts, splitter and three-way adjustable rear spoiler – were all inspired by that DE5, too, tuned to keep the HRC Prototype balanced and stable at high speed.

“It’s balanced on track. You can get good oversteer out of it. It feels very ‘fun’, but very predictable on track as you keep pushing it,” said Ray.

If it’s greenlit, when will it be pushed onto a production line? “We’ll still need more time. It wouldn’t be anytime soon, but there’s a lot of enthusiasm for it internally and externally,” said Ray. Indeed – Yuki Tsunoda apparently loves it.