New Honda Civic Type R will
use a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine and is priced from around £30,000
The full details surrounding the Honda Civic Type
R have recently revealed, and potential buyers could even have a chance to
drive one before it is released in the UK.
The 2015 Civic Type R has a lot to live
up to, as the last model was phased out of Honda's product range back in 2010.
After it appeared in the flesh at the 2013 Geneva and 2014 Paris Motor Show,
its been whetting Japanese hot hatch fans’ appetites for over a year.
Honda is also calling it the most extreme
car it's ever built, and it's easy to see why just by looking at the latest
pictures. It keeps the outlandish styling of previous Type R concepts, but adds
race-inspired stickers aimed at exciting track day enthusiasts.
Track day enthusiasts also seem to be
the crowd Honda are focusing on before the Type R's official launch, as
passenger laps at the Goodwood Festival of Speed's Moving Motor Show will ba
available for visitors. Driven by pro racing drivers, the Civic Type R will be
launched up the First Glance section of the famous Hill Climb. However, numbers
are limited and Honda are treating the event as a first-come, first-serve
basis.
The Type R will use a 306bhp 2.0-litre
turbocharged petrol engine and now Suehiro Hasshi, leader of the Type R project,
has gone on record saying: "The engine in this new Honda Civic Type R is
unrivalled against all of them [past road-going Hondas] in terms or raw power,
torque and engine response."
While the engine's power is impressive,
a steering wheel-mounted button labelled '+R' is set to give the Civic a dual
character. Pushing it makes the engine more responsive and sharpens up the
steering.
This is in addition to the car's
four-stage adjustable suspension dampers, which allow the driver to choose
between comfortable and (if past sporty Hondas are anything to go by) very hard
suspension setups. The result should be a car that's smooth around town, but
can be made firm enough for quick cornering when the opportunity presents
itself.
Modifications to the front suspension
aim to cut out torque steer – the writhing sensation that powerful
front-wheel-drive cars suffer from during hard acceleration. The Type R will
only be available with a six-speed manual gearbox.
Honda Civic Type R
price and release date
The Honda Civic Type R is priced from
£29,995, in order to compete with rivals such as the Ford Focus ST and the
Volkswagen Golf GTI.
The GT version will cost around £2,300
more.
Honda expect the new Type R to arrive
in UK showrooms in July.
New Honda Civic
Type R 2015 styling
The Honda Civic Type R will be the
quickest Civic by some margin, and it's clear from looking at the concept that
Honda is quite happy to shout about that fact.
It features a large, ground-hugging
front bumper with huge air vents and striking LED lights. The red Honda badge
denotes that this is a Type R (Honda's performance department) car, and there
are more LEDs in the main headlight housing, as well as two air vents in the
bonnet to cool the engine.
Even from the front, the car's extended
wheelarches are easily spotted. They house huge 20-inch alloy
wheels and powerful brakes, while the rear arches are vented for
improved aerodynamics.
The car looks most eye-catching from
the back, where it features four exhaust pipes and a huge carbon-fibre spoiler.
The Type R will be available with a limited selection of colours, including the
company's signature performance colour, Championship White.
New Honda Civic
Type R 2015 rivals
Looking at the car's rivals, it's easy
to see why Honda is taking its time with the launch of the new Type R. It faces
extremely tough competition in the form of the SEAT Leon Cupra 280 and
the new Renaultsport Megane
Trophy, which just beat the SEAT's lap time round Germany's
gruelling Nurburgring racetrack. The Honda aims to be even faster.
New Honda Civic
Type R 2015 engines & specs
The old Honda Civic Type R engine had
to be worked hard to extract the best performance, but the new turbocharged
engine should change all that. It'll offer low-down power for strong
acceleration without the need to constantly change gear. The engine produces
306bhp, which will be enough to get it from 0-62mph in 5.7 seconds and on to a
top speed of 167mph. However, its hi-tech mechanicals should mean fuel economy
of around 40mpg is possible.
Fast Hondas have a reputation for extremely
stiff suspension, which doesn’t get on with the UK's broken road surfaces, but
this is unlikely to change with the new car. That – and the car's noisy but
enthusiastic-sounding engine – means the Type R might be the preserve of
committed enthusiasts, not people looking for an everyday hatchback with a sporty
edge.
