I was searching online for words which rhyme with ‘doors’ for this spotlight’s title and eventually stumbled upon ‘furore’, which means ‘an outbreak of public anger’.
It got me thinking about the last time a car made me angry. I couldn’t think of one, which maybe has something to do with old age and a curious increase in sensibilities.
Browsing the world wide web and page after page of social media, you would be forgiven for thinking that to be a car enthusiast in 2021, you need to be angry about something. Not angry about things that actually matter in the world – there’s no shortage of those – but angry about how other people enjoy their cars.
It’s utterly ridiculous.
I’ve opened this story in this way because someone, somewhere no doubt will be angry. Despite the fact that any reasonable person will think ‘that was a good idea, I would have done that too’. I would take a wild guess that those who feel the rage building will no doubt never be in a position to own a genuine DB8 Honda Integra Type R, and will be muttering incoherent nonsense about ‘originality’ and ‘future values’.
Cars are to be driven, not admired in a collection.
My first reaction to seeing this silver DB8 in the paddock at the recent Showa Racing Honda vs. Toyota track day was wow. Whatever about DC2 Integra Type Rs being a rare sight these days, its four-door sibling is rarer again.
A quick search online doesn’t reveal a huge amount about the DB8’s production run. It’s estimated that around 5,000 were produced exclusively for the Japanese market and that they were approximately ¥40,000 (approximately US$365) more expensive than their two-door equivalent out of the showroom.
Early-morning encounter aside, I thought that was my dealings with this DB8 done for the day. But not for the first time in my life (or even just on this day), I was wrong.
It was only when shooting trackside, and watching the silver sedan lead a K-swapped Exige around for a few laps while making distinctively not B-series noises, that I knew I needed to take an even closer look. Luckily, I did find it again in the show and shine paddock.
If you were parked in the show and shine, and are wondering why I didn’t take any pictures of your car, it’s probably because I was obsessing over this. Also, there was another DB8 parked a few spots down, because of course there was.
This was the one I was interested in though, and not just because I spotted the trio of Defi gauges on top of the dashboard, including one measuring boost pressure. Although it was a pretty good incentive to find the owner, let’s be honest.
Enter Glenn, to fill us in on his four-door 1996 Integra Type R, complete with a Rotrex-supercharged K20A swap.
“The B series wasn’t fast enough,” was Glenn’s simple enough justification for things. With a history of fast Hondas behind him, who was I to argue?
Using a low-mileage JDM K20A from a DC5 Integra Type R, a Rotrex C38-91 was added along with a Skunk2 Ultra intake, Skunk2 74mm throttle body and Skunk2 header flowing into a custom 76mm exhaust system. Fuelling is taken care of with a K-Tuned rail, Sard Type-RJ regulator and Injector Dynamics ID1000 injectors.
Management is controlled by a Hondata K-Pro III, with current output rated at approximately 422hp and 350Nm.
On the transmission side, there’s a rebuilt JDM Y2M3 6-speed manual gearbox (as commonly found in the DC5 Type R) with an Exedy Racing clutch, Fidanza flywheel and a billet K-Tuned shifter mechanism.
With the shifter, the Defi gauges and the blue DC5 Recaros, the interior is distinctively OEM+ with a focus on street driving more than anything else.
In the wheel department, 16-inch RAYS Volk Racing SE37s are wrapped with 205/45R16 tyres. Behind the bronze wheels sit a complete DC5 Brembo-based brake setup with EBC Yellowstuff pads, Hel braided brake lines, Motul RF660 fluid and a ’98-spec Integra Type R brake master cylinder.
Suspension tuning consists of Yellow Speed Racing coilovers along with a mixture of Hardrace and Ultra Racing arms, bushes and anti-roll bars.
It was just last month that a low-mileage EK9 Civic Type R sold for over US$75,000 at auction. As much as I love cars like the EK9, those sort of prices are taking them out of the hands of the people who they were built for.
I don’t think the concept of buying a car as an investment has ever crossed Glenn’s mind, and the world is a better place for it. Maybe the only ones who will be angry are the speculators jealous of him enjoying his ‘investment’?
Paddy McGrath
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paddy@speedhunters.com