IT is still the best Honda yet, immediately above the 2008 Honda Accord. And now it has come into a new generation, the all-new Type R, a pure sports car incorporated into the cult car Civic, further enhancing driving performance.

The New Civic Type R was developed for the ultimate driving experience, making the driver feel one with the car in all driving conditions. And that means both road and circuit driving. Yes, that means the days of the Civic cultists are back and their rivalry with the Mitsubishi Evolution may just begin to be raised anew. After all, there is now the Evo X, too.

But getting back to the Civic, we recently had a chance to test-drive the Type R at the Tochigi R&D Center of Honda right on the winding course test track, where all of our favorite Hondas go through their paces before coming out into the market.

Right from the start, I was itching to see how this new Type R would perform, and it was a tricky situation, because it has been raining hard and the roads were really soaked. But immediately after hopping into the car, I revved it up a bit to see how far it would go, which, of course, shocked everyone around me.

Being given the green light to hit the track, I dove into it with tires screaming, wanting to see what this sports car can do.

It was not very long when I knew I had to take it easy. The car was powerful, the handling was perfect, the balance superb, but the road was wet, and I did not want to end up like a Chinese journalist from two years ago, who smashed an NSX because he ignored safety.

I took the Civic Type R through its paces, though, pushing it as far but safely as I could through curves and straights and sudden stops, just to see what this big Honda boast of a sports car was made of. Well the boast was deserved and the driving was too short for total fun.

Now, the Type R is powered by an especially tuned 2.0-liter, normally aspirated engine, tied to a six-speed manual transmission. Its body is much lighter but the shell is more rigid and floats on an especially tuned suspension with 18-inch tires. It is stopped by a huge 17-inch front-disc brakes, which give the driver the confidence to push the car further than he ordinarily would. If it were a fine day, I would have tried to find out how far it could go. The body’s aerodynamic styling also adds to its high-speed performance and still it makes you look good with its wide and low form for an aggressive look.

Hiroshi Shimizu, Honda Cars Philippines president, said, “This latest all-new Civic Type R is the distillation of 15 years of technological progress and the latest expression of Honda’s ‘Challenging Spirit.’”

The New Civic Type R’s exterior employs a pure sports one-motion form design with aerodynamically advanced surface treatment and sharp edges. Newly developed aerodynamic devices include a large air intake in the front bumper and grille, a rear bumper with built-in rear diffuser, a high-mount rear spoiler, and extended side-sill garnishes, giving the car an aggressive overall appearance. And it has that bragging Type R red Honda emblem at the front and rear.

The interior has an overall black color scheme that gives the cockpit a racing car-like appearance, giving the driver a feeling of being one with the car. The front bucket seats are especially designed for the Civic Type R. Separate center/side construction with high side bolsters and optimized cushion rates help hold the driver’s body in place to help him concentrate on driving.

On the instrument cluster, the multiplex i-VTEC engine revolution indicator alerts the driver when the engine’s speed is approaching overrev. It is also self-illuminated, lit with red-colored flashing lights and strategically located for minimum eye movement in circuit and other high-speed driving conditions.  The steering wheel is an oval, small diameter-type with genuine leather wraps, an aluminum ball-type shift knob, a short-stroke sports-shift linkage, metal sports-type pedals and footrest, and a separate, button-type engine starter.

Now, the powerhouse! The engine has a higher compression ratio with improved breathing efficiency. Power output is at a maximum of 165 kW (225 ps) at 8,000 rpm and a maximum torque of 215 Nm (21.9 k-gm) at 6,100 rpm.  The NSX production methods also contribute to smoother port surfacing, improving intake/exhaust airflow.  The Type R also has a drive-by-wire (DBW) system that provides for finer tuning of throttle response and power output.  And the optimum tuning of intake and exhaust manifolds delivers high output at high engine speed while improving torque characteristics over broad engine-speed range.

The Civic has a close-ratio six-speed manual transmission, which is matched to the Type R engine. These optimized gear ratios offer superior accelerations at high speeds, providing exhilarating performance. New features include a highly rigid aluminum transmission case and the addition of a baffle plate helps minimize oil starvation at high cornering speeds. The transmission also has a short stroke shift, which contributes to a sporty shifting feel.

Technology has produced a Civic body that is 50-percent more rigid than the Integra Type R. Especially tuned suspension, high-performance 18-inch tires, a torque-sensitive helical limited-slip differential, large disc brakes for improved fade resistance and other performance-enhancing features contribute to higher cornering performance and stability for an exciting, racecar-like driving experience. The especially tuned suspension boasts of revised spring and damping rates, and thicker stabilizer bars for improved vehicle stability. 

The Civic Type R carries 225/40R18-sized high-performance Bridgestone Potenza RE070 tires, 17-inch disk brake with Brembo 4-pot aluminum-front calipers, especially tuned ABS/EBD system and special lightweight 18-inch aluminum wheels matched to black wheel nuts.

Safety has always been a concern of Honda and this Civic Type R carries Honda’s original G-CON (G-force Control) technology to create a body with a crash-safety performance that is among the best in the world, withstanding a 55-kph full-frontal collision, a 64-kph front-offset collision, a 55-kph side collision, and a 50-kph rear collision. The vehicle is also designed to help mitigate pedestrian injury in the event of a collision, thanks to the use of impact-absorbing structures.

BASKETBALL’S crossover dribble is one of the most deceptive moves, relying on the initial impression of the defender to commit one way, then wowing the crowd by losing the defender and going another way.

IT is still the best Honda yet, immediately above the 2008 Honda Accord. And now it has come into a new generation, the all-new Type R, a pure sports car incorporated into the cult car Civic, further enhancing driving performance.

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