The Honda Civic Type-R produces 310 PS of power from the 2.0-litre i-VTEC engine and is also faster than its rivals on the Nurburgring circuit.
The newest hot hatch to hit the European market, Honda has showcased the Civic Type-R at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show after a five-year long wait and the hatchback certainly lives up to its heritage. In an all-new avatar, the 2016 model is the most powerful and fastest Civic Type-R to come from Honda, leaving its rivals biting dust. Power comes from the new 2.0-litre turbocharged i-VTEC motor that produces a whopping 310 PS of power and 400 Nm of torque, paired to a 6-speed manual transmission. Honda says that 0-100 km/hr comes up in just 5.7 seconds while the top whack achievable is 270 km/hr.
A road-ready racecar, the 2016 Honda Civic Type-R certainly looks the part taking design cues from two older concepts. The sharp lines are further accentuated with projector lamps, larger air intakes, front splitter and ventilated fenders. The side profile gets side skirts and specially made 235/35/R19 tyres for the Type-R version. The rear features a more conventional rear spoiler, a huge diffuser and quad exhausts completing the aggressive styling. The devil horns shaped rear wing from the concept is missed.
On the inside, the new Honda Civic Type-R comes with sports seats, flat-bottom steering wheel, short gear knob in addition to creature comforts including Honda’s CONNECT infotainment unit with GARMIN navigation system, ambient lighting, dual control climate control, rain sensing wipers, dusk sensing lights, front and rear parking sensors and much more. On the safety front, the Type-R comes loaded with forward collision warning, traffic sign recognition system, lane-departure warning, blind-spot information with cross-traffic monitor among other features available on the range-topping version.
Honda has also revealed the lap times of the 2016 Civic Type-R on the Nurburgring circuit as it clocked the track in 7:50.63 seconds. The record was set while in the final stages of development on the production ready model and is almost 4 seconds faster than rival Renault Megane RS 275 Trophy-R. This makes it the fastest front-wheel drive car to lap the Nurburgring. The Type-R also gets dual-axis front struts and a dual-pinion Electric Power Steering that is said to be linear, offering abundant feel.
The 2016 Honda Civic Type-R will officially go on sale in the UK in July this year with prices starting at 29,995 Pounds for the base variant, going up to 32,295 Pounds for the top-of-the-line GT edition. Competitively priced against rivals, the Type-R competes against the Mercedes A45 AMG, Audi S3, Renault Megane RS and Ford Focus RS in the segment. It will not be launched in India so all those wanting a super hot hatch will have to make do with the limited options available in the sub-continent.
