New Civic Type R

[Rezz]

HONDA announced the 'Civic type R' production version of the hatchback performance car on the 14th. Sales are scheduled for international markets to be announced at the Paris Motor Show at the end of September, and to start in 2007.

The engine is 2.0-liter DOHC 'i-VTEC' engine as used in the previous model. Max power is 201PS@8000rpm. The previous engine made 200PS@7400rpm. According to Honda each part has been refined for the 2007 version, and the response has improved markedly thanks to the newly developed balancer shaft and drive by wire throttle, though it's not clear as to why a higher output wasn't acheived.

0-100 km/h acceleration time of 6.6 seconds is the same as the outgoing model and the maximum speed of 235 km/h is also unchanged. Word going round at the moment seems to focus on the weight of the new model, which seems to have increased somewhat, despite Honda claiming identical performance figures to the previous model.

I hear that dashboard is pretty much production ready, heck the whole interior looks like a high tech junior S2000... which can only be a good thing. It does look pudgy overall though.

[Kaido_RR]

love the dashboard setup looks awsome

didnt honda say there were stopping the TYPE R range?

i wonder if we will ses a intgera R

[Richmond98]

It wont be coming to australia. But dam that engine looks scary to work on. Hardly any room.

[funkymonkey]

we can import the previous 2 door Civic Type R, so if the new one won't be released in Australia, then I'm fairly confident that it can be imported too.

[Hungryhippo]

is it just the european model thats porked up? i remember reading ages ago that the new type R was supposed to be significantly lighter than the old one

[shiro240]

That rear wing looks fruity and probably does nothing (other than to block your view). Otherwise, the car looks really cool!

[eMsta]

id buy it!

[Links]

Looks pretty cool.. hmmm.. might have to test drive it..

[Rezz]

is it just the european model thats porked up? i remember reading ages ago that the new type R was supposed to be significantly lighter than the old one

Actually the model there is the one to be shown at the Paris Motor Show so you might be right about the Euro version being heavier, not quite sure as to 'why' though... the old model (JDM) was listed as 1190kg so the Euro version will break the 1200kg barrier for sure. That sounds pretty weird for a 3-door hatch, but I guess thats the way things are going. I'm not sure if the JDM version will be that much lighter though... if they can trim 80 - 90kg then it'd be more like the old EK version (which is what people buy this type of car for I suppose?)

[R-sanichi]

From the shape of it, it looks like Honda may be gearing up for a go at the WRC. Suzuki are doing it. But, I'm not sure they'd operate an F1 team and WRC team at the same time. Has anyone heard anything?

Having said that, I cant see Honda finishing their F1 program, but then, no-one expected Toyota to quit the WRC and go to F1...........

[JieLine]

front end of the new evo looks similar to that ;o

[funkymonkey]

I thought it looked like a shrunken down honda oddesey?

[shiro240]

From the shape of it, it looks like Honda may be gearing up for a go at the WRC. Suzuki are doing it. But, I'm not sure they'd operate an F1 team and WRC team at the same time. Has anyone heard anything?

Having said that, I cant see Honda finishing their F1 program, but then, no-one expected Toyota to quit the WRC and go to F1...........

I'd have to agree in fact that if Honda does do WRC, it'd be because they've dropped their F1 program (which I highly doubt considering they only recently took ownership of BAR's F1 stock).

For many reasons, I think that WRC isn't quite as glamorous a choice as it once was back in the 80's. One of these is the lack of involvement by major constructors. As of now, I think there are only two companies with factory based teams this year: Ford and Subaru. While that number will grow next year, there's still the problem with TV exposure. Rallies run over three days, involves tons of cameras, and the owner of WRC (David Richards) charges a ton for the TV rights. Infact, although it had a strong cult following in the US, the motorsport channel we have decided not to renew for this season!

Compared all of this to F1 where there's more competition, better brand exposure, more prestige, more revenue, etc, and I think it's really a no-brainer that a lot of companies decide to pack up shop with their WRC program and move over to F1 (a la Toyota 5 years ago).

BTW- The Toyota F1 and WRC teams were/are both run by a group called TTE (Team Toyota Europe). I believe they also brought over a lot of staff from the WRC team during the early stages of the F1 team, most notably former rally driver Ove Anderssen (sic) as their first F1 team boss.

Edited September 19, 2006 by shiro240

[Richmond98]

I cant see honda going to rally. We all know they have F1 technology in all their cars.

[R34 Rampage]

Looks uber cool esp the interior but no thanks with that engine, I'd much rather a hot hatch with beef such as a Mazda 3 MPS or Ford Focus XR5 for the same money, rather than an admittedly sexy looking but torqueless, peaky 4 cylinder NA engined buzzbox.

If Honda wanted to keep their perfomance hatch NA they should go the 6 cylinder muscle route like the new Golf R32 or BMW 130i, a 2.0 4 cylinder VTEC means no fun unless you keep it planted in first and 2nd gear at all speeds under 160km/hr lest you fall off the 'VTEC cam boost'!

Edited September 19, 2006 by R34 Rampage

[MK2]

Engine looks like it will be a pain in the arse too do anything on, aside from that its a nice looking car but like most of those bloody front wheel drives throwing too much power through the front pegs you end up wrestling with them more than driving.

[Rezz]

I'd agree with what Shan said about it looking like a shrunk Odyssey. Even the tailgate comes right down into the rear bumper like the Odyssey, almost giving it a 'minivan but not' look from the rear. If the rear glass was anymore upright I guess you could call it a minivan.

Far nbe it from me to comment on a cars styling (lol) I think it's proportions and 'cab forward' design are all wrong and it's 3/4 rear view looks hideous.

[shiro240]

Even if you hate it, I still think you have to give Honda a lot of credit for coming out with such a different design. They seem to be real good at producing edgy, yet refined, designs and I think in about 10 years time, this car may be looked at as one of the better car designs of the "nouveau-box" trend we're in right now.

[funkymonkey]

Going by the absolutely awesome looking honda oddesey bodykits in japan, i reckon this design will yeild itself to some wicked junior pimp styling.

Still. at the end of the day its a civic.