The Honda Integra coupe has been resurrected, complete with a manual transmission and a roof reminiscent of the third-generation CR-X.
However, this new coupe – revealed at the Guangzhou motor show by the GAC Honda joint venture – is likely just a one-off, so don’t expect it to follow the new Prelude into showrooms any time soon.
The Integra name had already been revived on two different vehicles – a five-door liftback for Honda’s premium Acura division in North America in 2022, and a Chinese-built version of the Civic sedan (in 2021) and hatchback (in 2023).
This show car is based on the Chinese Integra hatch, though GAC Honda hasn’t revealed any information on it.
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What we can tell from these photos, snapped by Tycho de Feijter, is the Civic/Integra hatchback body has been heavily modified. There are just two side doors, while the centre section of the roof has been removed for a targa appearance.
Naturally, the B-pillar has been removed, and the rear section of the roof features ‘Integra’ badging but side windows almost identical to those of the Civic/Integra hatch.
The front- and rear-end styling is largely unchanged from the standard Integra hatch.
The current 11th-generation Civic was the first to not offer either a two-door coupe or three-door hatchback body style, so if nothing else this show car demonstrates what Honda’s small car looks like sans two doors.
GAC Honda offers the Integra with a choice of a turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine or a 2.0-litre four-cylinder hybrid. It’s likely the former that features in this concept, given the presence of a manual transmission shifter.
It’s a particularly unusual concept given the general apathy towards coupes in the Chinese market. Even hatchbacks aren’t popular there, though wagons have enjoyed a recent resurgence.
The Integra name was revived in China for the version of the Civic produced by the GAC Honda joint venture. Honda’s other joint venture there, Dongfeng Honda, also produces the Civic but under its existing nameplate.
Other joint-venture twins include the Accord, Breeze, ZR-V, and Vezel produced by GAC Honda, and their Inspire, CR-V, HR-V and XR-V counterparts at Dongfeng Honda.
