# Acura Integra Type R (DC2, US market)
Source: https://fullysorted.com/research/models/acura/integra-type-r-dc2
Publisher: Fully Sorted (fullysorted.com), collector car research
Last updated: 2026-10-01

## Key facts
- Make: Acura
- Model: Integra Type R
- Generation: DC2, US market
- Factory code: DC2
- Years: 1997 to 2001
- Body styles: 3-door hatchback coupe, 2+2 seating
- Engines: 1,797 cc DOHC 16-valve VTEC inline four, naturally aspirated, bore and stroke 81 x 87.2 mm, 10.6:1 compression, 195 hp at 8,000 rpm and 130 lb-ft at 7,300 rpm per Acura (Hagerty lists the torque peak at 7,500 rpm); the only engine offered on the US Type R
- Production notes: Nobody with access to Acura's records has published a US build count, and the numbers in circulation do not agree. Sports Car Market's 2018 profile gives 3,822 in total with 320 in 1997. A 2019 Hagerty article gives 3,823 for the US market and breaks it down as 320 for 1997, 1,000 for 1998, 1,350 for 2000 and 1,158 for 2001; those four figures add up to 3,828, not 3,823, so the article disagrees with itself. A 2025 auto motor und sport report gives 320, 1,002, 1,355 and 1,173 for the same four years and labels them North American sales, US and Canada together, which totals 3,850. The Drive repeats the 1,173 figure for 2001 and calls it the US number, with the word supposedly attached. Hagerty's own 2023 buyer's guide prints a different series entirely: 2,560, 2,577, 2,633 and 2,639 sold in North America, more than 10,000 cars across the four years. No other source consulted comes near that total, and no source explains it. What the sources do share is the 1997 figure. Sports Car Market, Hagerty, auto motor und sport and Barrett-Jackson's lot description all say 320 cars for the first year, and a car Barrett-Jackson sold in 2018 is described as number 37 of those 320. That is well short of the 500 cars a June 1997 US review said were slated for the US allotment. Each car carries a numbered plate on the center console, which Acura listed as standard equipment, so the serial on a given car is checkable even where the run size is not. Because the published totals differ by year and by whether Canada is included, and none of them traces to a published Acura document, this page carries no production total. The Japanese-market Honda Integra Type R is a separate and much larger run, about 29,995 cars built from 1995 to 2000 according to Classic Register, and is not counted here.

## Summary
The Integra Type R is the stripped, hand-finished version of Acura's third-generation Integra coupe, sold in the US for the 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2001 model years and not for 1999. Acura's 1996 press kit lists 195 hp at 8,000 rpm from a 1.8-liter VTEC four with hand-polished ports, a helical limited-slip differential, a close-ratio five-speed as the only gearbox, and 93 lb taken out against the GS-R, sunroof and cruise control included. The 1997 and 1998 cars came only in Championship White; 2000 added Phoenix Yellow and Flamenco Black Pearl, and 2001 swapped the black for Nighthawk Black Pearl. Every car has a numbered plate on the console. How many were built for the US is not settled: counts run from 3,822 to 3,850 depending on the source and on whether Canada is included. A 1997 listed at $23,100 and a 2001 sticker reads $24,930. As of September 2026 classic.com's benchmark is $44,610, and the record is $204,204 for a 4,800-mile 2001. Integras of these years topped US theft lists, so an original engine is a thing to prove.

## Specifications
- power: 195 hp at 8,000 rpm (Acura)
- engine: 1,797 cc DOHC 16-valve VTEC inline four, hand-polished ports, single-port intake manifold, 10.6:1 compression, VTEC changeover at 5,700 rpm
- layout: Front-engine, transverse, front-wheel drive
- torque: 130 lb-ft at 7,300 rpm per Acura's 1996 press kit and technical guide; Hagerty lists 130 lb-ft at 7,500 rpm
- weight: Not settled: 2,560 lb for 1997-98 cars (Hagerty, 2019), 2,600 lb (Hagerty, 2020), 2,643 lb (Hagerty, 2023); Acura quotes a 93 lb reduction against the GS-R
- chassis: Steel unit body with Type R reinforcements, including rear strut-tower and cross-member braces; double-wishbone suspension front and rear
- redline: 8,400 rpm per Hagerty's buyer's guide; Edmunds' 1998 review says 8,500 rpm
- top_speed: 143 mph (Hagerty, single source)
- dimensions: Wheelbase 101.2 in (2,570 mm), length 172.4 in (4,380 mm), width 66.7 in (1,695 mm), height 52.0 in (1,320 mm)
- bore_stroke: 81 x 87.2 mm
- acceleration: 0-60 mph in 6.6 seconds (Hagerty, single source; no period US instrumented test was retrieved for this page)
- differential: Torque-sensitive helical limited-slip
- transmission: Close-ratio five-speed manual only, lightweight flywheel, heavy-duty hydraulic clutch
- wheels_tires: Five-lug 6.0JJ x 15 aluminum wheels, Bridgestone Potenza RE010 195/55R15
- us_list_price: $23,100 for 1997 per Sports Car Market, $23,535 documented on one 1997 car; $24,830 for 2000 per Hagerty; $24,930 on a 2001 window sticker; no verified US list price for 1998 was found
- colors_by_year: 1997-1998 Championship White only; 2000 Phoenix Yellow or Flamenco Black Pearl; 2001 Phoenix Yellow or Nighthawk Black Pearl
- us_model_years: 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2001; no US 1999 model

## Notable variants
- 1997 Integra Type R, Championship White: The first US year and the one every count agrees on: 320 cars. Announced by Acura in August 1996 and in showrooms by summer 1997. Whether air conditioning could be ordered from the factory this year is disputed by the sources.
- 1998 Integra Type R, Championship White: Took the revised Integra front and rear fascias and lighting and got back the rear wiper and washer that the 1997 car had deleted. Still white only. Published counts put it at about 1,000 cars.
- 2000 Integra Type R, Phoenix Yellow: The color that arrived when the Type R came back after skipping 1999, offered in 2000 and 2001. The 2000 car also got dark-silver wheels, a titanium-finish shift knob and carbon-fiber styled trim. The $204,204 record car is a 2001 in this color.
- 2000 Integra Type R, Flamenco Black Pearl: A one-year color. It was replaced for 2001, and no source consulted publishes how many black 2000 cars were built.
- 2001 Integra Type R, Nighthawk Black Pearl: The last DC2 year changed nothing but the black paint. One 2001 window sticker shows $24,930, against $22,780 for a 2001 GS-R.
- Integra GS-R (the donor car): The 170 hp VTEC coupe the Type R was built from. Acura quoted the Type R at 93 lb lighter and 25 hp stronger. A GS-R with Type R badges is the most common misrepresentation, which is why the VIN tags matter.
- Honda Integra Type R, Japanese market (context only): Built from 1995, roughly 29,995 cars, sold as a Honda with Recaro seats and, on early cars, four-stud wheels. Never sold new in the US; the US car went without the Recaros and used five-lug wheels.

## History

### Why it exists

The third-generation Integra was a North American car first. Hagerty's history of the DC2 records that the three-door design came out of Honda R&D Americas in California, chosen over a proposal from Japan because the hatch was aimed at this market. By the mid-1990s the GS-R, with 170 hp, was the fastest Integra Acura sold. The Type R was the answer to what happens if the racing department is allowed to finish the job: Acura's August 1996 press kit describes engineering teams that included Formula One veterans and three targets, performance, handling and a thrilling driving sensation. Shigeru Uehara, the engineer behind the NSX and S2000, was chief engineer. Honda built the car for Japan from 1995; Acura announced the US version in August 1996, and a US review written in June 1997 still said it should be available soon, with 500 cars slated for the US.

### What Acura took out and what it put in

The engine is where the money went. Acura lists hand-polished intake and exhaust ports, a single-port intake manifold, a throttle bore opened up to 62 mm, intake valves 12 percent lighter, 10.6:1 pistons and a VTEC changeover at 5,700 rpm against the GS-R's 4,400. The result was 195 hp at 8,000 rpm, which Acura called the most horsepower per liter of any normally aspirated mass-produced engine sold in the US. Behind it sat a lightweight flywheel, a heavy-duty hydraulic clutch and a torque-sensitive helical limited-slip differential. Out went the sunroof, vanity mirrors, cruise control, rear wiper and washer, the dashboard insulator and floor melt-sheet; air conditioning became an option. The ride height dropped 0.6 in (15 mm), and Acura claimed 30 percent less lift. US cars kept a conventional sport seat: motoringresearch notes that American Type Rs went without the red Recaro buckets of the Japanese car. Road & Track called it the best-handling front-drive car of all time.

### 1998: the new face and the wiper comes back

Acura confirmed in April 1997 that the Type R would return for 1998, released in the spring. It took the revised Integra front and rear fascias and lighting, and it got the rear wiper and washer back. It stayed white only, and Acura said why: Championship White commemorates Honda's first Formula One win, Richie Ginther's 1965 Mexican Grand Prix. Hagerty notes the 1998 brochure offered an air conditioning kit as an accessory.

### The missing year and the color change

There was no 1999 Type R in the US. Hagerty's 2019 report adds that only Canada received one. When the car returned for 2000 it had dark-silver wheels, a titanium-finish shift knob, carbon-fiber styled trim, and two colors in place of white: Phoenix Yellow and Flamenco Black Pearl. For 2001, the last DC2 year, the only change was Nighthawk Black Pearl in place of Flamenco. Hagerty puts the later cars about 60 lb heavier than the 1997-98 cars.

### Why the Integra became the most stolen car in America

The engines that made these cars desirable also made them targets. In July 2005 the Associated Press reported CCC Information Services data showing the 1999 Integra coupe as the most stolen vehicle of 2004, one in every 200 registered, with the 1998 Integra third. Eight of the top 25 were 1994-2001 Integras, and Acura was the most stolen make. No source counts Type Rs among them, but Hagerty's experts report Type R powertrains stolen or swapped for non-VTEC units, which is why a surviving original car is worth what it is.

## What to look for

Start with identity, because this is the car most often faked from a GS-R. Hagerty's specialists say to read the VIN stickers on the doors, hatch, hood and fenders, note that replica stickers are sold, and that factory Honda stickers carry a watermark. The engine and transmission should be the Type R units and match the VIN tags. The numbered plate on the center console should be present and should make sense for the year: the 320 1997 cars carry low numbers, and a 2001 car sold in 2025 was described as number 1,086 of 1,173. Hagerty's originality list includes the Type R front and rear strut-tower braces, the rear trunk brace and rear cross-member brace, the amber-lit gauge cluster, the red-stitched seats, the Type R shift knob and door panel inserts, and the five-lug wheels. Year details help: 1997 and 1998 cars are white only, 1998 has the revised nose and the rear wiper, 2000 has dark-silver wheels and the titanium-finish knob, and Flamenco Black Pearl means 2000 while Nighthawk Black Pearl means 2001. A sunroof means it is not a Type R; Acura deleted it. A right-hand-drive car badged Honda is a Japanese import, a different car with its own market. Body checks follow the theft history. Look for collision repair, the INTEGRA embossing on the right side of the front and rear bumper covers (its absence means aftermarket covers), and rust in the spare-tire well. Window trim moldings warp and fade and most are no longer available, so original ones in good order are worth noting. For 1997 cars, whether air conditioning is factory or dealer-fitted is a fair question to ask the paperwork, since the sources disagree about what Acura offered that year. Window stickers, bills of sale and the special Type R key turn up with the best cars, and the market pays for them.

## Common problems

The B-series engine is durable, but these cars were driven hard. Hagerty's specialists point out that the Type R tachometer runs to 8,400 rpm and the gearing keeps highway revs high, so many cars have been wrung out and burn oil; smoke after an extended idle and a falling dipstick are the signs. The timing belt and water pump are replaced together at 90,000-mile intervals, and OEM parts are still described as readily available and preferable to aftermarket ones. Worn suspension bushings take away the steering feel the car is bought for, and replacing them is the usual first job on a high-mileage example. The original Bridgestone Potenza RE010 in 195/55R15 is no longer made, so no car on the road wears its original tire type. Window trim moldings warp and fade and are largely unavailable new. Theft is the problem specific to this generation. Integras of 1994-2001 filled eight places in the 2004 top 25 stolen vehicles, and Type R engines and transmissions were stolen or replaced with non-VTEC units, so a car may have been recovered, repaired and reassembled from mixed parts. The federal recall record is short. NHTSA lists no Acura campaign for the 1997, 1998 or 2000 Integra; the entries for those years are aftermarket replacement lamps that lacked amber side reflectors. For 2001 there is one Acura recall, 02V196000, for passenger airbag modules that were not properly welded and may not deploy, remedied by replacing the module. NHTSA does not separate Type R cars from other Integras in that campaign.

## Market notes

As of September 2026 classic.com puts its market benchmark for the 1997-2001 Integra Type R at $44,610 and its average price at $46,683, with the lowest recorded result $13,699 for a 2000 car on October 29, 2024. Its recent results show where ordinary cars sit: a 1998 with 102,000 miles sold for $51,000 on Bring a Trailer on June 9, 2026, a 2001 with 103,000 miles for $40,250 on September 1, 2026, and a 1997 with 100,000 miles for $28,750 on Cars and Bids on September 24, 2026. A 2001 with 51,000 miles was bid to $58,500 in April 2026 without selling. These classic.com figures are single-sourced and are read as a band, not a price. Low-mileage cars trade in a different market. A 2001 Phoenix Yellow car with 4,800 miles sold on Bring a Trailer for $204,204 in July 2025, reported by The Drive, Japanese Nostalgic Car and auto motor und sport. Broad Arrow sold a 6,200-mile 1997 at Amelia Island in March 2023 for $151,200. The record before that is reported differently: Hagerty gives $117,000 on Bring a Trailer in January 2022, auto motor und sport gives $117,112 on June 29, 2022, and neither names the car. The spread between a $30,000 car and a $200,000 car is mileage, originality and first-owner documentation; color matters less than either, and no source prices one color above another.

## Value trajectory

The Type R was a used performance car until about 2018. Then the low-mileage originals broke away: a 1,191-mile 1997 sold for $63,800 including premium at Barrett-Jackson Las Vegas in September 2018, a 27,000-mile 1998 for $65,500 on Bring a Trailer in June 2019, and a 6,000-mile one-owner 1997 for $82,000 in October 2019. Hagerty's guide records an excellent first-year car at about $40,000 in May 2018 and $65,500 by April 2023. The low-mileage records kept climbing: $151,200 for a 6,200-mile 1997 at Broad Arrow in March 2023, then $204,204 for a 4,800-mile 2001 in July 2025. As of September 2026 the market has split. classic.com's $44,610 benchmark and its recent results between about $28,000 and $51,000 for cars with 100,000 miles describe the driver market, which has gone sideways since Hagerty's 2020 range of $40,700 to $51,200. The collector market is a handful of untouched cars with paperwork, and it is priced one car at a time.

## Sources

- [1997 Acura Integra Type R - Introduction](https://acuranews.com/en-US/releases/release-60d8ae6f7e9de0fb2bf85e004c34c9a8-1997-acura-integra-type-r-introduction) (American Honda Motor Co. (Acura News))
- [1997 Acura Integra Type R - Powertrain](https://hondanews.com/en-US/releases/release-398aa72722c1c76a6c1681004c34c9a9-1997-acura-integra-type-r-powertrain) (American Honda Motor Co. (Honda News))
- [1997 Acura Integra Type R Technical Information Guide](https://archive.org/download/1997-acura-integra-type-r-technical-information-guide/1997-acura-integra-type-r-technical-information-guide_djvu.txt) (American Honda Motor Co., via Internet Archive)
- [Limited Edition Acura Integra Type R Returns for 1998](https://hondanews.com/en-US/releases/release-dee494c12fe65658b2f398004c34c987-limited-edition-acura-integra-type-r-returns-for-1998) (American Honda Motor Co. (Honda News))
- [Restyled 1998 Acura Integra Offers an Exhilarating Driving Experience](https://hondanews.com/en-US/honda-corporate/releases/release-6fc489f243566be048e0d4004c34c989-restyled-1998-acura-integra-offers-an-exhilarating-driving-experience) (American Honda Motor Co. (Honda News))
- [NHTSA recalls by vehicle: 2001 Acura Integra](https://api.nhtsa.gov/recalls/recallsByVehicle?make=acura&model=integra&modelYear=2001) (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)
- [NHTSA recalls by vehicle: 1997 Acura Integra](https://api.nhtsa.gov/recalls/recallsByVehicle?make=acura&model=integra&modelYear=1997) (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)
- [1997 Acura Integra GS-R Sedan Review](https://www.theautochannel.com/vehicles/new/reviews/1997/solo9726.html) (The Auto Channel)
- [1997 Acura Integra GS-R Coupe Review](https://www.theautochannel.com/vehicles/new/reviews/1997/heilig97060502.html) (The Auto Channel)
- [1998 Acura Integra Review](https://www.edmunds.com/acura/integra/1998/review/) (Edmunds)
- [Your handy 1997-2001 (DC2) Acura Integra Type R buyer's guide](https://www.hagerty.com/media/?p=185725) (Hagerty Media)
- [Someone just paid a whopping $65,500 for this 1998 Acura Integra Type R](https://www.hagerty.com/media/?p=6151) (Hagerty Media)
- [2020 Hagerty Bull Market selection: 1997-2001 Acura Integra Type R](https://www.hagerty.com/media/?p=7359) (Hagerty Media)
- [$151,200 Integra Type R steals the show at the Amelia Island auctions](https://hagerty.com/media/?p=295658) (Hagerty Media)
- [1997 Acura Integra Type R (SCM profile)](https://www.sportscarmarket.com/?p=712919) (Sports Car Market)
- [1997 Acura Integra Type R - Las Vegas 2018](https://barrett-jackson.com/Archive/Event/Item/1997-ACURA-INTEGRA-TYPE-R-222422) (Barrett-Jackson)
- [1997 Integra Type R achieves record $82,000 in online auction](https://www.motoringresearch.com/car-news/acura-integra-type-r-record-price) (Motoring Research)
- [An Acura Integra Type R Just Sold for $204,000](https://www.thedrive.com/news/an-acura-integra-type-r-just-sold-for-204000) (The Drive)
- [Why a 2001 Acura Integra Type R sold for over $200,000](https://japanesenostalgiccar.com/4800-mile-acura-integra-type-r-record-200k-sale/) (Japanese Nostalgic Car)
- [Honda (Acura) Integra Type R für 204.204 Dollar](https://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/oldtimer/honda-integra-type-r-rekordpreis/) (auto motor und sport)
- [Acura Integra - Third Generation - Type R Market](https://www.classic.com/m/acura/integra/third-generation/type-r/) (classic.com)
- [Acura Integra tops most-stolen vehicle list](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/wbna8620904) (NBC News (Associated Press))
- ['99 Integra Tops List of Most Stolen Vehicles](https://www.worktruckonline.com/news/3999-integra-tops-list-of-most-stolen-vehicles) (Work Truck Online)
- [INFO GUIDE: 1996 - 2001 Honda Integra Type R DC2/DB8 (JDM)](https://classicregister.com/guides/info-guide-1996-2001-honda-integra-type-r-dc2db8-jdm) (Classic Register)

Cite as: Fully Sorted, "Acura Integra Type R (DC2, US market)", https://fullysorted.com/research/models/acura/integra-type-r-dc2, updated 2026-10-01.