If you haven’t been living under a rock since 1940, you're well aware of Honda and its achievements over the years.
Honda was founded in 1948 by Mr. Soichiro Honda who elevated the brand to the top of the automotive industry. Honda was the catalyst for what would be known as THE Japanese brand in the automotive industry for all the right reasons.
For Honda, "racing was the pinnacle of automotive art.’’ Hondas’ racing passion, dedication, and the pursuit of victories lead them to win 6 Constructors Championship titles in Formula One. The Honda Civic Type R red badge exemplifies Honda's racing heritage, and commitment to producing a special race-inspired performance car.
The Honda Civic Type R has been praised for its powerplant performance, a tight balance chassis, perfect front-wheel-drive system, and polarise design.
The exterior design may be a head-scratcher, but can the interior design balance the scale?
Type R Performance Figures
Honda chose a superb a four-cylinder turbocharged Vtec engine, which produces 306 horsepower at 6500 rpm and 295 LB-FT of torque at 4500 rpm married with a 6-speed manual transmission. The engine is always engaging, with no noticeable turbo lag.
Packaged in the Type R is a three-mode drive system Comfort/Sport/+R, a limited-slip differential, adaptive dampers, and Brembo front brake calipers.
The Type R takes off from 0 to 60 mph (100 Km/h) in 5.1 seconds.
Interior cockpit
Honda provides the Civic Type R with an array of interior amenities such as: red sports seats, aluminum shift knob, sports pedals, and a 12 speaker audio system that will make your inner driver spirit shout for joy.
This four-seater has red and black colored seats. According to Honda, the seat is made with double-stitched "suede effect fabric." The rev-matching 6-speed manual transmission with an aluminum shift knob and the aluminum sport pedals makes you feel connected with the car.
The Alcantara steering wheel has the red color inserts at the bottom of the steering wheel to match with the red exterior emblem and enhances drivers the grip and control. Just below the gearshift is an awesome Type R serial number plate, indicating that you own one of the limited car series.
Hondas’ premium audio system locates 12 speakers including subwoofer within the cabin that pumps out 542-watts of clear, sounds that might just be able to make someone with a stiff body dance. Comfort features such as dual climate control with air-filtration system, wireless charging, proximity key system, push-button start, display audio system with Honda Link, Android Auto, Apple Carplay and Bluetooth Streaming Audio to name a few.
Technology and Safety Features
Now it's time to secure your playful inner child and have Honda provide you with a pillow of security. Safety Features have been increasingly more dominant in the automotive industry. Don't be shocked when you find out that the Type R inherits ¨Honda Sensing Technologies’’.
Collision mitigation braking system, lane departure warning system, Lane-keeping assist system, road departure mitigation, adaptive cruise control, and forward-collision warning are all within the Honda Sensing Technologies package.
Standard is also 4-wheel Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS), hill start assist, auto high beam, and led running lights to name a few. Now that we got most of the safety features out of the way we can go back to all the butterfly-in-your-stomach stuff.
The Exterior: Functional, Practical, Stylish, Overstated much?
It’s a fully functional wing and it doesn’t fly! At 200 km/h or 124 mph that healthy wing will produce 66 pounds or 30 kg of downforce at the rear, which enhances ¨cornering and straight-line stability’’. The Type Rs’ wing was developed in a wind tunnel and the design of the wing was finalized at the Nürburging track.
The Type R has also claimed its territory at the Nürburging, setting a new fastest lap time record for Front-Wheel-Drive-Car of 7 minutes 43.8 seconds in 2017. The front facia receives a larger front grille opening that keeps increase engine cooling.
Three colors are available in 2020: Championship white, Crystal black pearl and Boost blue. You can also dress up the Type R with a red carbon fiber door mirror, hood scoop, and wing spoiler.
The Verdict
This Honda Civic Type R is an amazing car, and it gives its competitors a run for their money. Customers are kept excited mile after mile as this high-performance hatch matches the spirit of its founder.