Acura Integra Prototype Shows Its Civic-Based Interior At Daytona

Those who attended the Rolex 24 in Daytona last weekend may have noticed Acura’s presence there. Such is life when you are a manufacturer involved in endurance racing, and in fact, Acura wins the overall event with Helio Castroneves piloting the Daytona Acura ARX-05 No. 60. For the purposes of this article, our attention has focused on something a little less dramatic but perhaps more relevant to Acura fans.

Integra is back, as revealed in November 2021 by Acura with the launch of the Integra Prototype. This near-production five-door hatchback is based on the Honda Civic Si, but its debut only revealed the car’s exterior. Imagine our surprise then, when photos of the interior of the Integra Prototype were taken during the 24-hour race. The car was on display for the weekend, and while we want to take credit for catching it, an Instagrammer named John Barr (@derphound01) told Car and Driver with a few shots. Mr Barr kindly shared his photo with Motor1.com as well.

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^{Photo Credit: John Barr / @derpound01 Instagram}

Unsurprisingly, the greenhouse of the Integra Prototype looks like a luxurious Civic Si. Some obvious trim changes; You won’t find the Civic’s cool honeycomb strip on the dashboard but you will find one with a center-mounted vent between the touchscreen and the trio of control buttons. The layout is identical to that of the Civic, as is the center console with the six-speed manual, although the stick looks a little shorter on the ‘Teg. The steering wheel also matches the Civic, except for the Acura logo in the middle. The seats aren’t as hard as those on the Si, and being an Acura, there’s an upscale feeling with a warmer feel and more leather.

Acura made no official announcement about showing the interior of the Integra prototype. Given that one photo shows the dashboard partially covered, we wonder if it was a last-minute decision to let it fly. In any case, Acura says the Integra Prototype is very similar to the production model slated to debut in the spring. Would it be different enough to woo buyers from a Civic to something almost guaranteed to cost more? We’ll see later this year.