If you're a reader of automotive journalism, you might well know Easton Chang's 2001 DC2 Honda Integra Type R. It's been described as Australasia's most famous Type R, appearing in countless stories (magazine covers, even) over the past two decades - as recently as December 2021, in the Modern Classic section of Wheels magazine.
Chang is an automotive photographer who purchased ITR-888 as his first new car back in 2001, when he was a university student. Having owned the Integra for half his life, he's just sold it - a process which he describes as emotional and "like re-homing a pet or something".
It's not just the length of ownership. Chang credits his entire career to the car. As a 21-year-old software engineering student, he purchased the Type R because he "loved it so much", but at the time he couldn't even drive a manual. His mother drove it home and the car was kept in the garage for months, with occasional practice drives until he he felt confident behind the wheel.
Chang started photographing the Integra to "capture my pride and joy", but wasn't happy with the results he got with film. He purchased a digital camera, but still had trouble replicating what he was seeing with his eyes, so started to learn about lighting, position and retouching: "I got to the point where I could retouch the image to look and match what I was seeing in person."
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All to get some good pictures of his own car.
But then Chang's self-taught skills allowed him to start building a career as an automotive photographer, ultimately working for Australia's top publications. "If I didn't buy the Honda, I wouldn't have been a car photographer".
The DC2 has now covered 232,000km and has had every service at the same dealer in Newcastle, NSW.
Chang says he regularly got three or four offers a week from potential buyers, but never entertained them. Until one came from an enthusiast who particularly wanted a Sunlight Yellow DC2 with yellow seats, a combination which was only available for the 2001 model. The buyer's online post/plea included an example shot of Chang's own car, from Wheels.
He admits it was hard to let it go, but was also conscious that it had become a "garage queen" after 15 years of daily driving.
"To really do justice to the car, it would be such a shame to just leave it in the garage. That's why I sold it - Type Rs are now at the point those people buying them really respect what they are and want to keep driving them, not hide them away.
Chang did one final shoot with the car before it left, recreating the early images he took with his film camera in 2001, in the same locations (see Gallery below).
