During the 90s and early 2000s, the DC2 chassis Acura Integra was at the heart of JDM “tuner culture” in the United States. Acura’s coupe was the platform of choice for young enthusiasts looking for an inexpensive car with plenty of potential for performance. The aftermarket embraced the Integra with open arms.

Then Acura made dreams come true when they brought the Integra Type R to the U.S. market. The Acura Integra Type R was a motorsport-inspired variant of the Integra, with a more powerful hand-built engine, less weight, and an iconic “Championship White” paint finish.

Unfortunately, the DC2 Integra was discontinued and replaced with the Acura RSX. The U.S. never got the RSX Type R but rather a Type S variant. However, that wasn’t quite the same. Once the RSX was discontinued, nothing filled that sport compact performance void.

That is until August 12th, 2021, when Acura made the monumental announcement that the Integra badge would return on a brand new car in 2022. The announcement came with a teaser image that only revealed the 2022 Acura Integra’s headlight and not much else.

Recently, Acura decided to show a bit more, revealing more concrete details in the process.

The 2022 Acura Integra will be a five door liftback

In a new teaser image, the rear quarter of the 2022 Acura Integra was revealed. The image and Acura confirm that the 2022 Integra will have a five-door liftback design. The image also provides a close-up view of the 2022 Integra’s taillights. It may not seem like much, but it actually provides a lot of information to examine.

First, we are speculating that the choice to choose a five-door design is a result of two factors. The first is that it is a throwback to the original first-generation Acura, which was also available in a five-door liftback body style. The second factor is that there is a good chance that the 2022 Acura Integra will be built on the same platform as the current Honda Civic, which is only available as a five-door. The previous-generation Civic was the last to have a two-door coupe option.

The chances are slim that Acura would go to the lengths of creating a whole new variant of an existing platform just to offer the 2022 Integra as a coupe. Some fans who grew up in the 90s might be disappointed since they likely have strong nostalgic feelings for the DC2 coupe. On the other hand, there are probably many fans who are glad that the Integra is coming back at all.

Could the 2022 Acura Integra get the Civic Type R engine?

It seems almost certain that the 2022 Acura Integra will share a platform with the Honda Civic. The question is: which Civic? Will the 2022 Integra be built on the FK8 chassis that the current Civic Type R utilizes? Or will the new Integra have the FE chassis that the 2022 Civic uses? The answer to those questions will determine the engine that is most likely to be dropped in under the 2022 Acura Integra’s hood.

If Acura elects to go with the FK8 chassis, then we would speculate that the turbocharged engine found in the 2021 Civic Type R is a virtual certainty.

If Acura goes with the FE chassis, then the engine choice is much more of a mystery. We do know that Honda will build a new Type R based on the FE chassis, but we have no idea what engine that next-generation Type R will have. It may ditch the turbocharger, or it may add EV augmentation. It could honestly go either way.

The only thing that is certain is that Acura will not reveal more information about the 2022 Integra until we get closer to its official debut date. For now, all we can do is speculate.