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Acura’s Integra Type R is a well-regarded affordable sports car from the 1990s. As the children of that generation become nostalgic adults with buying power, we’re starting to see used examples hit some outrageous prices. The latest example: bidding for a 1997 Type R currently being auctioned on Bring a Trailer has already gone past $70,000 with one day left to go.
The Type R was the performance version of the Integra. It had a handbuilt 1.8-liter VTEC engine that put out 195 horsepower when new–a fair amount for a car that weighed less than 2,500 pounds. Hagerty notes that many experts consider the Integra Type R “the best handling front-wheel-drive car of all-time.”
This Integra Type R is sort of like finding a unicorn. Honda changed the model up for 1998, leaving the 1997 edition a rare breed; just 320 examples were sold in the United States. The Integra Type R’s lack of exclusivity works in this particular car’s favor; unlike, say, Toyota Supras, Most owners drove them early and often, so low-mileage copies–like this one that has just 6,000 miles on the clock–are rare indeed. And for added Honda/Acura nostalgia, this Type R includes a signed poster from Honda-powered 1997 CART drivers Alex Zanardi and Jimmy Vasser that might fetch as much as $10 on eBay.
Acura Integra Type Rs have not blown up to this extent on Bring a Trailer before; no other one has sold for more than $45,000. That said, a similar 1997 edition did sell for $63,800 in a 2018 Barrett-Jackson auction.
Is a 22-year-old used Acura Integra worth paying more than the entry price for Porsche’s best car? For at least a few nostalgic folks, it seems the answer is yes.