Acura is taking the Integra racing but rather than tackling road courses or racetracks, it will actually take part in the American Rally Association’s L2WD class. Obviously, the Integra is not an off-roader so a series of alterations have been made to it. The special Integra has been developed and built in-house by the Honda of America Racing Team (HART) at its center in Raymond, Ohio. The most obvious change made to the car is the fitment of a wrap combining gloss red elements with a matte black front half. There is then plenty of Acura branding and stickers from other sponsors.
HART’s workers have then bolted on a set
of aftermarket wheels with new all-terrain tires to try and give it as much
grip in the dirt as possible. No less than five LED light bars have been
affixed to the Integra’s hood and there are also new yellow fog lights in the
lower extremities of the front bumper.
A key focus of the L2WD class is for
vehicles to remain close to the production cars they are based around. As such,
HART hasn’t been able to make any significant mechanical modifications to the
car and instead, the changes focus primarily on improving safety. This includes
the fitment of a full roll-cage, an OMP racing seat with racing harnesses, and
what appears to be a tripped-out interior.
Sadly, the car built for rallying is not
based around the flagship Integra Type S. This is because the L2WD class caps
the engine size of forced induction cars to 1.6-liters, meaning Acura has to
field the base model with its 1.5-liter turbocharged mill. Nevertheless, the
team has gained plenty of experience rallying over the past 12 months, running
a modified Honda Passport and Honda Civic at rally events across the U.S.
