Community

Back to articles

My Honda Integra Type-R is the Clark Kent of cars

January 22, 2025
Event Date:
Read time: 5 mins

Author:

James Mills

My Honda Integra Type-R is the Clark Kent of cars

If memory serves me right – and it was a long time ago – my first meaningful experience of the Honda Integra Type-R DC2 was over the Christmas of 1998.

For two whole weeks I had Honda’s press car all to myself, and once the final page proofs of Auto Express magazine had been sent to press and the holiday period could well and truly begin, I sunk into the red Recaro seat and plotted a course for Aldeburgh, on the Suffolk shoreline, where my parents would be roasting turkey and hosting Christmas.

Those next two weeks were a blur, not because I hit the sherry hard, but because of the Integra Type-R. It was a riot of a car, the equivalent of holding your own in the front row of a Clash gig. It was full of energy, felt as instinctive as recovering your balance and would leave your ears ringing and head zinging for days after each extended drive.

In those days, Auto Express editorial guidelines dictated that objectivity was the name of the game. So as a journalist, I had to admit the car’s shortcomings – namely, that it looked underwhelming, was as white as an Essex lad’s socks, came pitifully equipped and would have most passengers asking if they could get out after just a few miles. But as a car enthusiast it was the more reason to love it to bits, frankly.

Skipping on a few years, to the start of freelancing, I bought a Nissan Note diesel for the family (“But think of the fuel economy, darling” I told my unimpressed wife) and a Mercedes 190 E 2.5 16 for yours truly, because it was special, held memories for me and my Dad, shouldn’t depreciate, was practical (four doors, unlike a Sierra Cosworth or BMW M3) and as good as bullet-proof. That was sold to pay for a new kitchen. Big mistake. Within a handful years, it would have risen in value fourfold, but the money was needed. 

Why I bought a Honda Integra Type-R

Photos: Charlie Magee

When the next opportunity arose to buy another toy, I wanted something that would be just as robust, dependable and special as the 'bahnstorming Benz – but at the same time it had to be completely different and similarly affordable. Enter the Honda Integra Type-R I now own.

Truth be told, I broke every rule of browsing and buying a used car, especially a classic. Drive many, goes the saying, and get a feel for the good, the bad and the downright ugly. I spotted the Integra for sale on PistonHeads, dropped in to see it on the way back from an airport, and slapped down a deposit after a test drive.

However, I did it after making enquiries about the vendor, Will. A friend worked with him at Ford, and told me (before I went to see it) that his cars were renowned for being fastidiously maintained.

It was (and remains!) immaculate. I bought one of the most expensive advertised – an entirely original, low mileage (sub-45,000), UK-spec Integra - because I wanted a car that was as it was the day it left the factory and wouldn’t need money spending on it.

It was top whack, costing me just under £8000. That was nearly 10 years ago, and prices have been creeping up, slowly but surely, partly because of its long-held reputation as being something special, and partly thanks to a new generation of journalists and influencers who are only discovering the Integra Type-R for the first time.

The man who made the Integra Type-R

You have to appreciate this is a car that was fathered by Shigeru Uehara, the chief engineer of the NSX and, later, the S2000, and said to be a close friend of Ayrton Senna. With the Integra, however, he and his team went to town.

At the Suzuka factory, around the corner from the race circuit, the Type-R version of the Integra underwent a dramatic transformation reputed to have seen Honda lose money on every model sold. There was seam welding, reinforced suspension mounting points, bracing beneath the car and in the boot and engine bay, lighter glass, less sound proofing and then came the icing on the cake - a handbuilt engine with piston speeds that were higher than the Formula One and Indycar engines Honda had been making a few years earlier.

Conversely, all this goodness means it can be a bore to live with. I drove the car to Davos, for a long weekend in the Alps, and the five-speed gearbox and short gearing mean it drones away at 4000rpm at 70mph. Still, hammering through the mountains as the sun rose, and kissing 9,000rpm more than made up for it.

There’s so much I love about the DC2: its driving position, pinch-perfect Recaro SR3 seats and Momo wheel; the low seating position and overall feeling that the centre of gravity has been oh-so deliberately configured by a true enthusiast; the sensation of there being so little inertia at speed (it weighs just 1125kg – not bad for a proper four-seater with a big boot!); the kick of that VTEC system working its magic and urgency of that four-pot screamer; the grip its little 195/55 Bridgestones find, especially when the differential locks; the tenacity of the front-wheel drive chassis, especially when you haven’t driven it for a while, and how it gets better the harder you work it.

I could go on… but I won’t. Okay, just one more thing: the fact that this car flies below the radar. It is truly one of the most intoxicating driver’s cars created but it doesn’t attract attention, which works for me.

Sports car thrills at supermini prices

And as hoped, it hasn’t missed a beat. The car is known for running like clockwork, assuming all scheduled servicing is adhered to. And the fixed prices at the family-run Honda business I have taken the car back to – where some of the technicians have worked on the since new – mean I know exactly where I stand.

A major annual service has cost me £260, the minor annual £150, all backed by Honda’s guarantee. Time-related jobs have included the timing belt (£210) and changing the gearbox oil (£70), while the only problem to date has been a weeping slave cylinder for the clutch, replaced at a cost of£176. Recently, however, the dealership was gobbled up by one of the giant groups and I’ve switched to an independent. You know the drill: ex-Honda technician who is a true enthusiast, with an NSX and Type-Rs to his name, who struck out on his own and knows Hondas inside out.

It’s also cheap to insure and doesn’t guzzle super unleaded. A good job too. Because whenever you escape for a drive, the chances are the VTEC will be kicking in, yo!

It’s a car for those that, in the right conditions, is able to deliver the intoxicating intimacy of some of the very greatest sports cars, all for a fraction of the price.  

Follow James Mills on Instagram

If you would like to know more about Racing Green’s services, or arrange for your car to be placed in our care, please speak with a member of the team, on 03330 909722, or email us at enquiries@racinggreencarstorage.co.uk

Newsletter

Subscribe

Sign up to our newsletter to get all the latest news, events and more from the Racing Green team.

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

By filling out this form, you agree to the terms laid out in our privacy policy