Months before Acura brought back the Integra in North America, it was Honda who first revived the fabled nameplate for a Chinese version of the Civic. Based on the sedan but with mildly different styling, the new car sold by the GAC Honda joint venture is built in Guangzhou. It's currently offered with the familiar turbocharged 1.5-liter gasoline engine making 180 hp and 177 lb-ft (240 Nm) of torque, but a hybrid version is right around the corner.
As part of the homologation process all new cars go through in the People's Republic, the Honda Integra Hybrid has made an early appearance on the official website of the local Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). It essentially carries over the exterior design of the regular model, but without the dual exhaust tips. In addition, the trunk lid now hosts the e:HEV badge to denote the model's electrified nature.
Much like the European-spec Honda Civic e:HEV, its Chinese sibling with an Acura badge uses the naturally aspirated 2.0-liter engine. The four-pot mill runs on the Atkinson cycle and produces its peak power of 141 hp (105 kW) at 6,000 rpm. While there's no word about torque, it might produce the same 186 Nm (137 lb-ft) at 4,500 rpm to echo the global model.
The MIIT document does not include details about the electric motor, but we'll remind you it generates 135 kW and 315 Nm (232 lb-ft) in the Civic e:HEV. The hybrid punch is good for a 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) run in 7.8 seconds and a top speed of 112 mph (180 km/h).
It should be mentioned the Honda Integra is not a replacement for the Civic in China. The local Dongfeng Honda joint venture is selling the regular model with the compact model's global design in both sedan and hatchback flavors, thus giving customers more options to choose from. Ironically, the actual Acura Integra five-door liftback is not sold there.
