Geneva 2015: Honda Civic Type-R Revealed

by Derek Kreindler

March 3rd, 2015 8:22 AM

At 310 horsepower, the Honda Civic Type R represents the first turbocharged performance vehicle from Honda, and the big H is aiming for the fastest front-wheel drive time around the Nurburgring.

Unlike past VTECs, peak torque of 295 lb-ft will come online at just 2500 rpm. The only transmission choice will be a 6-speed manual transmission. Brembo brakes, bucket seats, a stiffer suspension and selectable drive modes round out the rest of the package. While the front suspension features a new “Dual Axis” setup similar to Ford’s RevoKnuckle system in the old Focus RS, the rear utilizes a torsion beam rather than a fully independent suspension.

#Geneva2015 #Honda #HondaCivic #HondaCivicTypeR

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Turbo Is Black Magic on Mar 02, 2015

If this thing does sticker for what a top spec GTI goes for like the UK mags are saying and can pull a sub 7:54 ring time (skeptical) this will be a performance bargain. If only Honda of America would step up and demand of the overlords that it be sent here. If this really did sticker at top spec GTI prices ($32k) range I honestly would probably buy one.

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- APaGttH on Mar 02, 2015
  
  I call sheningans before it even hits the track. Ring time (which is kind of meaningless) of under 7:54:00 would best the previous fast FWD car by almost 22 seconds. The Renault Mégane RS R26.R did it in just under 8:18. The Chevrolet Cobalt SS (non GMPP trim) did just under 8:23. The Mazda MazdaSpeed Mazda3 (what an awful name) I believe is third place for a FWD car at 8:39 flat. The Focus ST in 2005 was faster than the Mazda3 but I can't find anything to confirm/deny it was FWD vs AWD and I have to confess, I'm not 100% up on my Euro trim cars. So it is possible the Mazda is in 4th place - gladly corrected. 7:54 would be equal to a Nissan GT-R, a 997, and faster than a F430 F1. It would be over 50 seconds faster than the last Civic R to take the track. Norfolk and Weigh.
  
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- Turbo Is Black Magic on Mar 03, 2015
  
  @APaGttH The current FWD record is 7:54.36 set by the Renault Megane RS 275 Trophy R... Honda has said this new Type R will best that record. If it does indeed do it, it will be a crazy performance bargain... we shall see.
  
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- Turbo Is Black Magic on Mar 03, 2015
  
  @APaGttH It's official this little winged wonder did a 7:50.63 on the ring, in other words it's 21 seconds faster than the new AWD MK7 Golf R... this thing is legit.
  
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- Chan on Mar 03, 2015
  
  @Turbo Is Black Magic 20 seconds is within the margin of error for Ring times, so a 21-second difference must mean that the new Type R does have a performance advantage.
  
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- APaGttH on Mar 05, 2015
  
  @Turbo Is Black Magic Holy crap the Megane RS 275 Trophy R seems so - pedestrian by the specs. Curb weight of 3000 pounds. 275 HP, 8.6:1 compression rate, 4 piston Brembos out front, solid disc in the rear, 6-speed manual, McPherson strut with double wishbone up front, torsion beam in the rear, 19" rims with 235/35 rubber. On paper, this is definitely a hot hatch - but by the specs sure doesn't come across as an under 8 minute around the Ring car. There must be some impressive engineering there - and of course the Aussies get it - but we don't.
  
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Pete Zaitcev on Mar 05, 2015

Meanwhile, in the real world, here's the first comment at Insty (http://pjmedia.com/instapundit/203192/): "Manual gearshift only? What am I, a cave man? :) I understand that some people still like having a manual transmission (even though these days they're typically slower in a drag race, especially compared to dual-clutch jobs) but c'mon, give us an automatic option. We know Honda have automatic gearboxes that can handle that much power. My car has one..."

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