The Honda Integra Type R is both highly praised, yet severely underrated within the car community. With such simple styling straight out of the factory most people wouldn't look twice. However, those who know and love these cars have immense amounts of passion towards them. The first car below being a first generation Integra Type R (Red/DC2) and the second being a second generation Integra Type R (Blue/DC5) and are only 1 year apart in production. The DC2 is a 2001 model and is owned by my mate Jerard. Jerard was lucky enough to pick up this example completely stock and now gets the joy of making the car his own by adding subtle modifications. With the car still being very close to stock Jerard has only added an air intake, Mugen exhaust, upgraded brakes, sound system and painted the wheels white, which I think really makes the car pop!
Below is Sajith's DC5 which is a 2002 model Integra Type R and is modified in a similar way to Jerard's DC2. This generation features a 2 Litre K20 engine as opposed to the 1.8L B18 from the previous generation and has almost identical power output. You can see that Honda went for a similar styling when designing this newer generation of Intergra Type R, but gave it a slightly more modern touch. However the DC5 isn't quite as notorious as the previous generation because of this. From what I've seen the DC2 seems to slightly out perform the DC5 in track testing, but the DC5 with it's more modern look blends into traffic so easily, which can be handy in certain situations but would be a lot of fun on the back roads. With both cars looking and driving fantastically, it would ultimately come down to personal preference on which one to buy. I think I'd have to take the DC2 because I'm a fan of the older styling and raw driving experience, but I'd happily spend a weekend in either one!
So which would you take, red pill or blue pill?