Official pics of the new Type R

[FujiBlueSi]

I know it's been posted to death but these are official press release photos. Enjoy.


Civic Type R
Honda reveals the production version of its ultimate hot hatch.
by Justin Kaehler
September 18, 2006 - After months and months of teaser shots and concept photos, Honda UK finally unveiled its production-spec Civic Type R. Is Honda's latest hot hatch worthy of the "Type R" moniker, or has the Civic become too bloated for its own good?

We're decidedly split down the middle. You see, the original EK-chassis Civic Type R was an unbridled race machine. It was built for the race circuit first and city streets second. Type R buyers didn't need (or want) things like air conditioning, power seats or a boomin' sound system; Type R buyers just wanted to go fast around the race track.

So while the original Type R is a stripped-out racer, this latest Civic Type R is loaded with just about every creature comfort one can imagine. The famous red Recaros may be gone, but their replacements, some Alcantara-covered red and black "racing-style" buckets promise to do a good job of keeping the front seat occupants in place. This latest hatch also gets a cooler version of the Civic's love-it-or-hate-it two-tiered dash. The gauges of the Type R are now illuminated in red and are flanked by gunmetal trim pieces. In true Type R fashion, red stitching can be found in the seats, steering wheel and shift boot.

All of the aforementioned interior accoutrements have been Type R staples since day one, but apparently those things weren't enough for some prospective Type R buyers. Honda feels that many Type R buyers want things like dual-zone climate control in their race-ready cars, as Honda has made it an option in the latest version of the car. In fact, if one purchases a Civic Type R in GT trim, the "race" version of the Civic will come with dual-zone climate control, cruise control, fog lights, automatic lights and windshield wipers and side curtain airbags. If one desires even more high-tech options, a voice-activated navigation system is also an option for this latest Type R.

So while the new Type R's cockpit now has more in common with an Acura than a track-ready car, Honda made sure to give the Civic some mechanical improvements to make sure it at least seems like it earned the Type R name. The 2.0-liter K20 has been tweaked, and now offers more revs and more power over the K20 that powered the EP-chassis Type R. The new car now offers 201 PS at 8,000 rpm, which is 1 PS more than the last Type R, though this new car needs an extra 600 rpm to hit that peak horsepower number.

Is 201 PS at 8,000 rpm better than 200 PS at 7,400 rpm? Only a first-hand driving experience will tell… Either way, Honda is saying that the new Type R should match the old Type R's performance numbers, meaning that 0-60 should take about 6.6 seconds and the new car should also be able to hit a 146 mile per hour top speed.

While the new Type R is based on the new Type S Civic, Honda's engineers modified the suspension, steering and chassis of the "race" Civic so that it would deliver a "sportier" driving experience. The Type R's lower crossmembers and suspension mountings have been beefed up to increase the chassis' rigidity. Ride height has been lowered 15 mm and the steering feel has also been "firmed up" thanks to a quicker ratio box and stiffer steering box mountings.

Exterior styling cues for the new Type R are subtle -- well... at least they are to us.We don't get the 3-door Civic over here, so we don't have the car's lines etched into our brains. Anyway, in addition to a subtle aero kit that includes a deeper front lip and a body-colored rear wing, the front glass plate has been replaced by a black honeycomb grille. Oh yeah, if you take a minute to look behind the 18-inch aluminum rims, you'll see that the front brake calipers get a subtle "Type R" badge. We wonder how long it will be before we see these calipers at Hot Import Nights.

Of course, like all Civic Type Rs, this one isn't slated to come to America any time soon. While we Yanks can take solace in the fact that we have a very capable and very comparable Civic Si on our shores, we still can't help but want a Civic R hatch more. We'd build or own, but Honda won't sell the 3-door Civic here, either. We guess that means that the only way we'll ever get to "experience" a Type R will be to look at these pictures...



Here is a link incase you see red x's.
http://cars.ign.com/articles/733/733362p1.html

[si_civic]

welcome to teh internets!

[06SILVERSI]

I would rock the Type R hatch, its f*ckin sweet, I love it way more than my SI coupe, so want the dash, the intacke manifold cover, shift knob/boot, dead pedal, wheels, brake calipers, the sterring wheel, the seats are yummy goodness, oh man why cant we have them, Maybe 08?

[Corpsman]

It's like dejavu all over again.......

[That_Si_Guy]

To be honest, at first I thought this car was hideous, like vomit hideous. But after seeing more and more photos of the overall car, I really like it and wish it was for sale in North America. I would even trade in my brand new Si for one of these.

[Downpour]

^ +1

this car is wayyyyy to sweet

[marc-o-lishuz]

06 CTR vs VW GTI... that would be a sweet comparo.

[Car78412]

Our 2dr coupe has alot more class than that updated crx hatch.

[OblivionJin]

Originally Posted by That_Si_Guy

To be honest, at first I thought this car was hideous, like vomit hideous. But after seeing more and more photos of the overall car, I really like it and wish it was for sale in North America. I would even trade in my brand new Si for one of these.

+1

I thought it was horrible at first too, either it's grown on me or it's somehting about those pics that's making it really appeal to me...

[Eric'sFG2]

nice interior,
I love the placement of the navi screen
the push button start is a nice novelty
i would take the seats and door panels maybe but other then that I love my Si coupe.

[That_Si_Guy]

The interior really reminds me of like a full blown race car cockpit, almost S2000-ish. The front of the car could use some work but the side and rear shots are gorgeous.

[taste]

Perhaps this is honda's answer to the new Mazdaspeed 3. Will it compete?

[k20z3Vo]

I... Donald Q. Vo, would rock the hell outta this thing. I would trade in my SI and get this bad boy.

Sorry, if I've disgrace the community, but damn!!!

[spideryk]

yea that interior is sweeet, i wish there is a way to swap it for our interior

[tomasro]

Interior=Awesome...Exterior=Yuck!

[Downpour]

for those of you saying exterior yuck...

this is damn nearest teh sweetest looking hatch ive ever seen. usually hatches look really really ... whats the word.. un sporty. this thing is the opposite! it looks mean!

[Celcius]

type ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Don't like the interior design as it doesn't flow as well as ours does, but I do want to jack that push button start and I definately want the symmetrical steering wheel. I don't know what the other two buttons do but who cares!

[superclarkmode]

I want this car...Please Honda Please! How much would it be to import it here?

[sh33t_0f_p4p3r]

id so f--k that dash

[Kurt]

I'd trade myself for this car