Acura is moving the 2024 Integra Type S sport sedan into the halo position in its line, filling the large gap left by the NSX hybrid-electric supercar it retired last year with a limited run of Type S variants.
It's a new product strategy for Acura.
The Acura NSX Type S pushed the limits of street performance for affluent racing enthusiasts craving a factory-built, track-ready supercar. It also cost $171,495, including shipping but before any options.
Integra Type S carries forward that principle, but at a price point attainable to a wider set of buyers. That juxtaposition turns the concept of a halo vehicle—typically the most aspirational product — upside down.
The souped-up, 320-hp sport sedan went on sale this month and costs $51,995, including a $1,195 delivery fee.
"Integra Type S is really the piece de resistance of the Acura lineup, and is the full expression of our performance," Emile Korkor, assistant vice president of Acura National Sales, told Automotive News.
The standard 6-speed manual transmission of the Integra Type S combined with the sport sedan's compact platform generates "that pureness of driving connectivity between the driver and the machine, a synergy we always aspire to create," Korkor said.
"That gives us tremendous power to show what we would say is, pound for pound, the best overall performing vehicle in this segment, and that is the spirit of NSX," Korkor said.
Korkor said he classifies the Integra Type S as more of a specialty vehicle. But maintaining a balanced approach for it, in terms of production and sales, is key to preserving its exclusivity without making it too unattainable.
"We want to create sufficient demand to satisfy enthusiasts yearning for a specialty vehicle like this with limited production and avoid saturating the market because that takes away that specialness from the car," Korkor said.
Acura estimates the hot-selling Integra will reach year-end volume of about 36,000, comprising about 22.5 percent of total brand sales. The Type S is expected to make up 10 percent of those sales.
The Integra, which starts at $32,695, including delivery, has served as a new entry point to the Acura brand, attracting a younger buyer interested in performance.
The top A-Spec with Technology trim that comes standard with the manual transmission accounts for 19 percent of sales; it starts at $37,695, including delivery.
The Type S rounds out the Integra lineup, targeting a buyer more focused on extreme performance.
"It just depends on their interest level, but there are peaks on both ends — a older buyer that might have had an Acura in the past as well as a surge of younger buyers that are coming in experiencing manual transmission for the first time," Korkor said.
The manual transmission, whether on the A-Spec or the Type S, continues to give Acura the edge against luxury rivals.
"We have a real competitive advantage, given the fact that Integra Type S offers a manual and competitors like Audi and Mercedes do not," Korkor said. "So if a customer is a pure enthusiast, they would be targeting Integra Type S first in the marketplace."
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June 16, 2023 at 06:09PM
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2024 Acura Integra Type S: An attainable sports car - Automotive News
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