After parading the Civic Type R prototype at various events throughout the globe, Honda will finally pull the cover off the production version in just a few weeks.
Announced for the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, the hot hatch was developed in parallel with the standard five-door model. However and unlike its lesser sibling, it benefits from a number of enhancements in order to allow it to sit at the same table as the Ford Focus RS and Volkswagen Golf R, among others.
Honda continues to keep its performance numbers a secret for now, but the car will feature a 2.0-liter VTEC Turbo petrol engine. Previous intel suggests that this is actually a tweaked version of the lump that powers the outgoing model, massaged to deliver more than the existing 306 horsepower.
Following its world debut in Switzerland, the 2018 Honda Civic Type R will hit the assembly lines at the company’s manufacturing site in Swindon this summer. From there, it will be exported across Europe and other markets around the world, including Japan and -the first time ever- in North America.
Honda will also bring straight from the 2017 CES in Las Vegas the NeuV (New Electric Urban Vehicle) Concept. Its state-of-the-art technology allows it to sell energy back to the grid when not in use, with the concept incorporating the company’s artificial intelligent assistant, which learns from the driver by detecting emotions behind their judgments and uses them to make new choices and recommendations. It can also operate as an automated ride-sharing vehicle.
Honda’s stand at the Geneva Motor Show will also see the Clarity Fuel Cell on display. Billed as “the world’s most advanced fuel cell vehicle”, with a maximum range of 620 km (385 miles), the first batch of cars arrived in Europe late last year.
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