With the world premiere of the all-new European Civic hatchback at the Frankfurt Motor Show right around the corner, Honda decided to bid farewell to the outgoing model with the development of a hardcore version of the limited run Type R Mugen that may be offered to the public.
Confused? Allows us to explain. Last year, in collaboration with its in-house tuning division Mugen, Honda built 20 examples of the Civic Type R Mugen that features an uprated 2.0-liter K20 four-cylinder engine producing 240-horsepower. Of the 20 cars built, four remain unsold.
So Honda’s tuning arm took one of those cars and further honed it by increasing the capacity of the engine to 2,156 cc – hence its name, the Civic Type R Mugen 2.2.
Compared to the standard Type R, both horsepower and torque are up by 30%. In particular, output has been increased to 260-horses and 240 Nm (178 lb-ft) at 6,000 rpm, with Honda claiming that torque has increased across the range.
Mugen also created exclusively components for this special edition, including a more hardcore suspension, uprated brakes and a new bodykit.
President of Mugen Euro, Hiro Toyoda, said: “Environmental pressures mean naturally aspirated engines are being superseded by other engine architectures and technologies. We may never see the like of the K20 in a mainstream production car again, so we thought it fitting we mark the occasion with this special 2.2 version of the Civic Type R.”
Honda says plans for the 2.2 car have yet to be finalized, but the company noted that it’s possible MUGEN Euro may offer the four unsold Civic Type R Mugens with the reworked engine, while it is also considering offering the option of an upgrade to existing owners.
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