This Low-Mile Acura Integra Type R May Fetch Big Money at Auction
This example has the potential to be the next big-money Acura, with low-mileage NSXs fetching top dollar already.
RealTime is synonymous with the Type R, having secured multiple touring car championships when the cars were new.
With the Acura NSX having recently cracked the $1 million mark at auction, collectors of modern-era Japanese vintage machines are having a look around to see what else might hit that next record. Well, you don't have to look outside Acura's own portfolio, as the Integra Type R has long fetched money that belies its front-wheel-drive roots. Several low-mileage examples have been bid over the six-figure mark in past years, and one's coming to auction that just might be the new benchmark.
The mileage is very low, the color is right, but a big part of the story here is where this Integra hails from. It's part of the RealTime Collection Hall, a California-based museum specializing in the best-of-the-best vintage Hondas and Acuras, both road cars and racing machines.
RealTime Collection Hall
RealTime Racing was the brainchild of Peter Cunningham, a championship-winning pro racer in his own right. The team campaigned many cars over the years, but perhaps the best-known is the run from 1997 to 2002, when RealTime Integra Type R racers won multiple World Challenge Touring Car championships, including handing Acura four of its first manufacturer's championship wins in the series.
The 2001 Integra Type R that the RealTime collection is putting up for auction is finished in Phoenix Yellow. It has just 4800 miles on the odometer. And as a meticulously maintained road car from a racing team that knows these cars inside and out, it is as good as it gets.
Acura's current compact performance flag is carried by the Integra Type S, which is a fantastic car in its own right but completely different from its Type R ancestor. The original hot Integra was one of the masterworks of Honda engineering legend Shigeru Uehara, the brains behind the NSX and the S2000, and a close personal friend of F1 great Ayrton Senna.
RealTime Collection Hall
Under Uehara's direction, the Type R was stripped of every luxury to save weight and had a spicy 1.8-liter engine that revved to 8400 rpm and produced 195 hp. The car was stiffer and lighter than the satisfying Integra GS-R and overall felt like Acura had taken an already great driving experience and poured five espressos down its throat.
A Type R delivers the kind of raw driving experience you simply don't get in today's more complex vehicles. It's not just about the pace but also the feel of the thing. As such, it falls firmly in the category of 'they don't build them like this anymore.' That kind of thing demands a premium.
The collector community will be watching closely to see what kind of dollar amount this blue-chip Acura will fetch. As a museum-quality piece, it's probably too important to history to really rack up the miles with. But then again, even a single lap in a Type R is an experience to be savored.
Brendan McAleer
Contributing Editor
Brendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki's half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels.
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