Honda Civic Type R | spy shots

Spy photographers over in Europe have captured the upcoming Civic Type R, a high-revving hot hatch with race-inspired looks, taut suspension and impeccable handling. With the release of a brand new Civic in the European market recently, performance fans are eagerly awaiting the arrival of its Type R variant.  

The latest spy shots show a prototype for the new Civic Type R testing at Germany’s Nurburgring. Clear giveaways that this isn’t your run-of-the-mill Civic are the huge rear wing, pumped fenders, Brembo brakes, quad-exhaust tips and sporty body kit.

Like the previous Civic Type R, the new car should stick with a four-cylinder engine delivering more than 150kW to the front wheels via a six-speed manual transmission. We hear output may reach as high as 225kW, by way of turbocharging.

This is said to be necessary for the car to set a new front-wheel-drive lap record of the Nurburgring, which is one of the goals for the car’s designers. The current record stands at 8:07.97, as set by the Renault Megane RS Trophy in 2011.

As the spy shots confirm, the new Civic Type R will feature a five-door body instead of the three-door body used for the previous generation. There’s also the possibility that a dual-clutch transmission may be offered as an alternative to the regular manual, this time around. And if that wasn’t enough, we may even see an active suspension setup fitted.

We may also see Honda’s in-house tuner and motorsport partner Mugen involved with some of the development. Given Mugen’s deeper integration with Honda’s road car program of late, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Honda offer some official, factory-installed upgrades for the Civic Type R as well as other models in the near future.

Stay tuned for updates as development advances, and look for a debut in the first half of 2014. Key competitors for the car will be next-generation versions of the Ford Focus RS, Renault Megane RS and Volkswagen Golf R. Sadly, there's no hint we'll be seeing it on Australian roads yet.

Honda has promised the Type-R only for Europe so far, and says it will be part of a model assault that includes a new mini SUV based on the next Honda Jazz platform, a small open sports car, a fuel-cell car, and a hybrid all-wheel drive Legend.

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