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2024 Acura Integra Type S Road Test: Just our Type

It’s so often the case that a truly special driverÂ’s car reveals itself within the first couple hundred feet behind the wheel. The 2024 Acura Integra Type S is one of those cars. In fact, the Integra Type S doesnÂ’t even need that amount of road to show itself, because so much of what makes this car magical to drive can be felt standing still in the driveway. The fizz starts when you push the well-weighted clutch in, then hear the buzzy and vibrating 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder spring to life. It sends vibrations through the car and straight into your body thanks to the purposefully lacking balance shafts. Little turbocharged motors are typically lacking in character, but the Integra Type SÂ’ engine feels like itÂ’s alive and bumbling with energy at idle. Before you even start to find revs, this engine presents as one designed for performance. Take a spin through the six-speed manual transmission while stationary, and it quickly becomes obvious why Honda is the standard when it comes to manual transmissions. ItÂ’s a combination of the natural fluidity moving through the pattern – going both up and down, each gear seemingly selects itself as your wrist guides the stubby shifter along – and the mechanical click-clack connection you feel through your hand with each shift. The sheer amount of satisfaction it brings to make every last gear change is enough to make any manual enthusiast giddy. I ease off the clutch for the first time, and start to roll those thick 265-section-width tires forward, quickly revealing the perfectly weighted steering rack, clueing me in on how serious this chassis is. The view forward is spectacular past the thin A-pillars. The exhaust goes bang, ratta-tat-tat on the overrun as I ease up to the first stop sign. And the brakes only require a gentle whisper to the mega-responsive pedal to bring this hatchback to a stop. It only takes that couple hundred-foot stretch to realize that this Type S is exactly what I know it to be: a Honda Civic Type R in a different outfit. The comparison is impossible to avoid, and the Honda community may spend the next 50 years debating which one is better – trust me, there will never be a clear-cut answer – but itÂ’s undeniably great that we all get to choose between these two similar driving beasts.

Acura MDX Prototype reveals slick new looks, with Type S close behind

The next-generation Acura MDX is here, almost. This three-row crossover you’re looking at is technically being called the MDX Prototype by Acura, but itÂ’s about as close to production as any prototype can get. And what a looker it is. Acura has followed up the slick TLX sedan with another attractive design. With the MDX now the best-selling Acura nameplate of all time, this one was even more important for Acura to get right. Just like the TLX, it benefits from a much longer dash-to-axle dimension, measuring in six inches longer than the outgoing MDX. The pentagon grille, and Chicane-shaped DRLs in the headlights now grace a much wider car. Acura gave this MDX a wider track and a three-inch longer wheelbase, both aiding in making it appear far more graceful and sporty. Acura clearly isnÂ’t holding much of anything back with this MDX Prototype versus the final production car, and weÂ’re liking what we can see so far. Many of the design elements we liked so much on the TLX are transferred over to this crossover body style, and Acura has done so with class. The MDXs you see here are riding on new 21-inch wheels that are bolted up to a new light truck platform and chassis specifically tailored for the MDX. Acura says it provides for more athletic handling, greater ride comfort and a quieter cabin versus the outgoing MDX. ItÂ’s even more rigid than the RDXÂ’s body. Just like the new TLX, Acura has gone with a double wishbone front suspension design to make the MDX an even sportier driver. ThereÂ’s more excitement in the powertrain options for the new MDX, too. Acura promises a Type S version of the MDX is coming with the same 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 youÂ’ll find under the hood of the TLX Type S. It will make 355 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of torque (same as the TLX) in this application. The standard engine will continue to be AcuraÂ’s 3.5-liter V6 that makes 290 horsepower and 267 pound-feet of torque. Both engines will be mated to AcuraÂ’s 10-speed automatic transmission and send power to all four wheels using the latest fourth-generation SH-AWD system. Not all of the performance details are available yet, but Acura says the MDX can be had with four-piston Brembo brake calipers and comes with a drive mode selector that allows you to adjust ride, handling, steering, suspension and powertrain characteristics. More Type S-specific details will need to wait. The interior matches the exterior for flair and elegance.

Acura NSX bodywork to be sheathed in zirconium e-coat, fewer paint layers

Automakers make halo cars to drum up excitement and show off what they can do, but there's more to it than that. Advanced platforms allow a company's engineers to experiment with all sorts of technologies. And in the case of the upcoming new Acura NSX, that includes new paint processes.
Speaking with Autoline in this video interview, Honda's North American Senior VP Jon Minto talked about an innovative zirconium e-coat which it's applying to the new NSX. Unlike some experimental paints developed for Formula One, however, this coating is not designed to minimize drag or enhance cooling: it's designed to be more environmentally friendly.
It's one of a few measures which Honda is implementing on the NSX before expanding it to more accessible models, along with another process that uses fewer coats to reduce energy consumption by 40 percent. Watch the interview with Autoline host John McElroy right here.