I was truly blessed this afternoon as I was treated to a ride in an Integra Type R. My next door neighbour came out and started nattering to me whilst I was cleaning the Golf and we got talking about tuning. He asked lots of inquisitive questions about the car and seemed genuinely impressed.
After some twenty minutes he invited me to come and see his 'pride and joy'. As we walked round the back of his property toward the garage, I couldn't help but think it would be some old classic car or even a boat. I'll make you aware at this point that my neighbour is over sixty years old and looks older still.
When he pulled open the big, half rotten, wooden shutter I couldnt believe my eyes. There it was in all it's rather ugly, square glory. A pristine alpine white Integra. It was absolutely mint, not a single mark on it. For a thirteen year old car I was truly impressed.
David (the neighbour) showed me inside the rather bare cabin and explained that the car had only six thousand miles from new.
He also explained that his son, who was an engineer for a division called Mugen Honda, had modified the car with mostly prototype parts as a birthday present for him some 10 years ago.
The end result, a Sunday play thing that produced 290bhp, 240lbft and weighed just above 1000 kilos. 0-60mph in 4.2 seconds.
David offered to take me out in the car and I duly accepted without hesitation. After a rather sedate demonstration he asked me if I wanted a go. Yet again I obliged happily. I drove for what seemed like only five minutes although it was actually closer to an hour and i ended up obliterating some half a tank of petrol.
David was egging me along and I just couldn't resist, the driving experience was sublime and I couldn't stop smiling, it made my Golf seem lethargic by comparison and far less alive. It definitely wasn't as torquey as the Golf from 3,000rpm to 6,000rpm, but everywhere else in the rev range, it pissed all over it.
I couldn't believe my luck and will happily admit this is the best car I've ever driven. Big up David. Big up his son. And big up Honda for producing a monumentally brutal and exhilarating masterpiece.
