The new Honda Civic Type R follows a car that was phased out of the Japanese manufacturer’s product range in 2010. But the hot hatch made an appearance at the 2013 Geneva and 2014 Paris motor shows and track day enthusiasts have been licking their lips ever since.
Honda has described the new Type R, available at Howards Group showrooms across Taunton and Weston-Super-Mare, as the most extreme car it's ever built. The new version is just as exciting to look at as previous incarnations, but it also comes with race-ready stickers.
That track-day focus seems to be key, with Honda offering passenger laps at the Goodwood Festival of Speed's Moving Motor Show. It’s your chance to be scared out of your pants while being driven at breakneck speed by a professional racing driver.
How scared? The new Honda Type R comes with a 306bhp 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine that will blow your socks clean off. Suehiro Hasshi, Honda Type R Project Leader, said, "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."
But if even that’s not enough adrenaline for you, you can try pushing the ‘+R’ button on the steering wheel. It’ll give the engine even more oomph and tighten up the steering.
On top of this, you’ll get four-stage adjustable suspension dampers, which allow you to choose a more comfortable suspension option. That means your car will be comfortable when driving to Tesco and hard as nails around Goodwood corners. A car for all seasons.
The front suspension has also been modified to remove torque steer and the Type R will come with a six-speed manual gearbox.
Visually, things are pretty striking. There’s a huge, ground-hugging front bumper. Air vents are big and LED lights exciting. There’s the trademark sports red badge and the headlights get more of the LED treatment. Two air vents on the bonnet add a satisfying Mad Max touch. Huge 20-inch alloys are like the paws on a lion and the rear arches come vented for better aerodynamics.
So how much can you expect to pay for all this state-of-the-art Japanese sports tech? You can pick up the new Honda Civic Type R at Howards Group outlets across Somerset and Dorset for just £29,995. That’s an attractive price designed to put the Type R in the same bracket as the Ford Focus ST and the VW Golf GTI.
Expect to add on around £2,300 for the GT version.
The new Honda Type R is expected to arrive in Weston Super Mare and Taunton at the Howards Group showrooms in July 2015. Buckle up and get ready for lift-off.
Image Credits: Dong Liu, Shutterstock