This is the new Honda Civic Type R we’ve all been waiting for, and it’s finally been revealed at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show.
Hot hatch enthusiasts were excited when Honda revived the Civic Type R two years ago. But short lived as it was, that was just a stopgap.
Based on the latest tenth-generation Civic, the new Type R packs a 2.0-liter turbo four tuned to deliver 316 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque. That’s hardly a big increase over the outgoing model, which boasted the same torque figure with ten fewer horses.
Fortunately the new Civic Type R promises to improve in other areas, including a 38% increase in torsional rigidity. The suspension is also retuned “to minimize torque steer and maximize sporty handling,” with a MacPherson strut setup at the front and independent multi-link system at the back.
Power is channeled to the road through a six-speed manual with rev-matching function for perfect blip-shifts. There’s also a new driving-mode system that tailors the adaptive dampers, steering rack, shift feel, and throttle response to the occasion – with a new Comfort setting that ought to smooth out rougher surfaces when Sport or +R settings aren’t called for.
As visually arresting as the previous Type R was, the new model encompasses a new aero kit that looks no less extreme, but perhaps a bit better resolved with the base model’s jet-fighter styling. Honda promises “best-in-class balance between lift and drag” for better stability all around.
Best of all, the new Honda Civic Type R will be a global product – and that includes the United States for the first time in the model’s history. Production is set to kick off this summer at Honda’s UK manufacturing site in Swindon. In the interim, we hope the Japanese automaker will hit us with some performance figures in the near future.
Story has been updated with images from the Geneva show
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