The Honda Civic Type R may be the fastest Type R in the 22-year history of it brand.
The chatter about “hot hatches” has been going on for some time, and Honda’s new Civic Type R is only going to add fuel to that fire.
Featuring a few small exterior changes, such as an electric blue paint job to replace the standard red, it still keeps the large rear wing, quad exhausts and racing-style rear diffuser.
Speculation is that the new iteration is the best performing Type R in the 22-year history of the car. In fact, Honda’s been running the new version around Germany’s famed Nurburgring track trying to set a new record.
To make that happen, the Type R got a new 2.0-litre i-VTEC turbocharged engine – the first turbocharged powerplant for a Type R model – mated to a six-speed manual gearbox. No figures are available, but Honda said earlier it would develop more than 275 horsepower, which should equate to a zero-to-60 time around six seconds.
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In addition to being clad in blue instead the normal red, this version of the Type R gets a new steer-axis front suspension that lets the driver put the pocket rocket through its paces by reducing torque steer and providing smooth power to the front wheels during hard acceleration.
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The Type R gets additional power and handling at the push of a button called +R driving mode. When the driver needs a little more oomph, pressing the button will provide heights the response of the engine and adds some heft to the steering.
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However, since not every moment behind the wheel of a “hot hatch” is spent in full race mode so an adaptive damper system allows the driver to choose the firmness of the front and rear dampers. When going slow and easy, the rid is softer, and when it’s race time, the ride stiffens to provide better performance.