There has been so much nonsense surrounding the 2018 Honda Civic Type R that it was becoming difficult to separate fact from the fiction. Speculation on the car’s engine and transmission was endless. There were rumors that it could be as large as 3.5 liters or a substantially smaller mill mated to a continuously variable transmission. However, it turned out the most expected configuration was the correct one — Occam’s razor, and all that.
Although, after so much conflicting information, when and where the 2.0 liter turbo VTEC and its manual transmission would show up seemed uncertain. The Type R was supposed to come to North America in the middle of this year, something 36 year olds have been begging for since they were 16, but Honda hadn’t said anything concrete and that deadline is fast approaching without anyone even having laid eyes on the production model.
Then, late last week, Honda Europe slipped in a small mention that the Civic Type R would debut in Geneva alongside the Clarity Fuel Cell and the NeuV electric concept while confirming the summer production and immediate export for North America.
While everyone is chuffed that the wait to see the final production model will only be another month, few expect it to look wildly different from the prototype we were treated to last fall in Asia. Extended wheel arches, splitters, spoilers, and all of the other aggressive bodywork from its earlier incarnation are expected to remain — perhaps toned down slightly.
The 2.0 liter turbo is confirmed and anticipated to make more than the previous model’s 306 hp and 295 lb-ft worth of torque, casting a long shadow onto the friendlier Civic Si.
Assembly of the new Type R will start in summer at Honda’s Swindon manufacturing plant in the United Kingdom and the vehicle is to be simultaneously be released in Europe, Japan, and the United States. If you’re considering taking delivery on the Civic, the Geneva Motor Show runs from March 9 to March 19 and we’ll have the full allotment of details on the production vehicle then.
[Images: Honda]
And winter delivery? Bad timing, this is a spring/summer launch car.
The article indicated summer production and immediate export to US.
Was it Pch who speculated this is just Honda being nice to Swindon and hoping they can sell at least a modest number in the US?
It’s not a matter of “being nice.” Honda has excess capacity in Europe, and it’s trying to use it up.
If Brexit happens, then Honda will have an even bigger problem, as the failure to negotiate a post-Brexit trade agreement with the EU would mean that Hondas built in England and exported to the EU would be subject to a 10% tariff. Avoiding that tariff was part of the calculus of putting the factory there. (The US has a 2.5% tariff, which is much easier to swallow.)
Thanks!
Hardball will be played between Brussels and the UK, no doubt…but “The Don” has an affinity toward England, and you can rest assured, the US will be fair in it’s treatment of our Anglo-Saxon brothers. I wouldn’t be surprised if tariffs on autos between the US and UK go down or disappear completely in the next year or so.
I like Tilda, but not THAT much. A little too pale for my taste.
Yimminy! I thought you might referring to a beer then I Googled it and saw a poster girl for what anexoria does to Aryans.
Sounds like a sweet car. What’s not to like?
The testosterone drenched high-school aged extrovert cosmetic add ons that no doubt catches the attention and prejudgment of LEOs everywhere. Ticket magnet much?
Definitely not a Q-ship.
Agreed. Even the non-R versions intended for actual adults are over-the-top with the Fast & Furious look. My GF considered a Civic hatch as a replacement for her soon-to-be-boughtback Golf TDI, but eliminated it immediately upon seeing in the flesh at the local Honda dealership.
The entire notion of “Q-ship” is a bunch of crap; LEOs will see a fast-moving vehicle…period. The only way to have a “Q-ship” is a with a cloaking device.
The look.
This is a far cry from the older Type-R’s looks, but those did not sell very well. I hope these keep the performance and honesty of the old Type-Rs if not in form in function.
That it will cost Golf R/STi/FoRS money, but unlike those cars, it will likely send every one of its 300+ lb/ft of torque to the front wheels, resulting in hellacious torque steer?
“The Type R was supposed to come to North America in the middle of this year, something 36 year olds have been begging for since they were 16,”
Heh. it’s just too late and I’m too old to drive a Civic Type R. Heck, that I wear my baseball caps forward instead of backwards automatically disqualifies me. It’s nice to see Honda pursuing this though.
“Heck, that I wear my baseball caps forward instead of backwards automatically disqualifies me.”
It may, but the older folks appreciate it as it confirms you are arriving and not departing.
A hatchback with 300+ hp, superb handling, 6-speed MANUAL, and Honda’s bulletproof quality? All you wankers that always spout off about there not being enough hatchbacks and manuals…put your money where your mouth is…here is your car. Who cares if it has a wing, when the resale value on these things will be accountant approved, that is for sure.
I’ve already put funds aside for one, but will not purchase the 1st year run, as dealers will want to arse-rape all first movers with exorbitant “market value” mark-ups…just like we’ve seen in the past with other cars of this magnitude (Hellcat being a recent one, as they can be had now for 6-8k off MSRP one year later, and not the 10-20k plus markups at introduction).
This entire model year of Civic is absolutely one of the most hideous designs I have ever seen. The thing could drive like a GTR and I would still want to set it on fire.
@Drew8MR….record Civic sales say otherwise. As the old saying goes…opinions are like a$$holes…everyone’s got one.
>.record Civic sales say otherwise. As the old saying goes…opinions are like a$$holes…everyone’s got one.
Just try not to pleasure yourself too much whilst typing that.
Why would I put my money on a little $#itmobile?
“Why would I put my money on a little $#itmobile?”
U no want angry cockroach bristling with plastic?!
>All you wankers that always spout off about there not being enough hatchbacks and manuals…put your money where your mouth is…here is your car
Before you call people wankers, at least have the courtesy to release your package before doing so.
And for god-sakes, wash your hands before typing.
The Civic is so ugly even crash test dummies refuse to ride in it.
The Civic needs ALL of that 340 hp just to outrun its looks.
Apart from being a rolling aesthetic offense, it should be a nice car. To drive one of these, you’d have to be 16 or wonderfully oblivious to the opinion of your neighbors.
Sorry if your neighbors dictate what you should drive.
Neighbors don’t dictate what I drive. Most people, however, worry at some level about how others perceive them. The Civic R looks like it came from the second Fast & Furious movie, and that ain’t a good look for most working professionals.
Well, I fall into category 2, so no problem.
There is a big difference between caring to some extent how people perceive you, and letting something as trivial as someone’s shallow perception of your car influence your choices.
Coworker strolls in to the office for an important meeting with a client, covered in vaseline and wrapped in plastic wrap, boom box on their shoulder blasting the Beastie Boys “Intergalactic”…yeah, that might influence my perception of someone. Finding out they drive a certain car? Who cares. I’m not that judgmental, and if someone else is about me, they can ^%$* themselves.
Glad I don’t work in a field where my personal car determines whether I’m one of the “in” crowd. Neighbors? Not even on the radar as far as influencing my vehicle choices.
sigh. So, no Acura version, then.
Dammit. I’m at the point in my life where this would be a wonderful ride, but only if it were in adult clothes.
Doubt it? Take a look at the ’13-’15 ILX 2.4. If only they would give that treatment to this platform.
I’m not sure why this wouldn’t be offered based on the previous ’13-15 version as you cited. The only thing I can think of is the cost of spinning it up vs projected sales.
Well, the cost of spinning up the Swindon factory for it.
I figure, since it’s pretty much one car for multiple locations, having that factory build one just for the US is probably cost prohibitive.
If this were built in Ohio, I think it’d be much more likely to get the Acura treatment.
At least the engine is. Maybe we’ll yet see that driveline in the current ILX, as a special model or something. Oooooo–rebadge it as Integra Type S. I’d be up for that.
When the ILX (finally) moves to the new Civic platform, we might see an AWD version with a detuned 2.0T. Honda/Acura often disappoint on the powertrain front, unfortunately, but the inherent goodness of the new Civic means a properly done ILX would be a genuine alternative to the A3. I’d love to see it, even though it won’t have MT.
Which brings me to the Type-R. I’m older than most in the market for the Type-R, but I don’t care what my neighbors think and I love hot hatches. If I like it and the price is right, I’d go for it, but not in the first model year.
The better news to me is that the 6 speed manual is available on the Civic EX-T coupe or sedan and not just the base LX . Not only does it have variable intermittent wipers , but appears to come standard with push button start/remote start , dual zone climate control , and heated mirrors/front seats as well . Let the boy racers go for the Si and Type R and pay well over sticker – the real value to me and other middle age manual enthusiasts will be the EX-T . And for those who want to be noticed it’s available in a color called energy green (coupe form only sorry) – called bright florescent eyeball scorching green back in the day .
With a Hondata tune, you can get the new 10th gen to 260hp/280tq, with no other mods on the 1.5t (such as downpipes, intakes, etc).
I wondered about that color. There’s one on a lot I pass on my commute, I honestly thought it was a trade in w/ a wrap. It is BRIGHT!
Jack said if they sold it in that color he’d buy it. I want to see a review at the very least. :)
I’m surprised I haven’t seen a dedicated review of the manual EX-T sedan anywhere. There were all kinds of posts on the various car review sites when it was announced that the thing would actually exist, but since it’s come out, crickets for the most part.
My wife has an EX-T with the CVT, and it’s a great car for the money. A decade ago, she’d have opted for the manual, but now with a kiddo, city traffic commute, etc, it doesn’t make sense. That, and the fact that the CVT is actually quite good, to my surprise and to the contrary of my preconceived notions.
This vehicle will probably end up costing as much as a base STI. At that price point, the choice (for me) is pretty straight-forward.
There’s a “kid” up our street who owns an STI. He’s too old to be living at home but still wears a reverse baseball cap and cannot grasp the concept of pants that fit properly. He has poured much money into modifying his once appealing car into something completely stupid that goes farting down the street, puking yellow and blue light every direction from aftermarket lights, banging over potholes and road cracks because there is no suspension travel left, looking like a complete tool in the process.
He would love this Honda.
My favorites are the ones who have a “tuning” shop lower their car for “performance”, and completely screw up the camber of their wheels in the process. Then about a month goes by, and their front chin spoiler is cracked because they entered an over-steep driveway.
Any drivetrain details?
I’m assuming FWD, and wonder how they’ll get that torque through the front wheels.
Also, if purchasing, I’d be pleased to offer an extra $100 to NOT receive that spoiler.
I know, right?
I think aftermarket suppliers should offer nicer, less overstyled bumper etc. Instead of taking a bland Civic and making it look like Godzilla, lets take the stock Godzilla Civic and tone it down a bit. I’d be very interested if it was more understated and less gaudy, more like the Focus RS and Golf R.
I hadn’t noticed it before and I’m surprised I haven’t seen any comments about this, but that side view really makes me think of a Dodge Caliber srt4. Am I the only one?
Nailed it. There was something about that picture that bothered me, and I’m generally OK with controversial styling. But yes, there is something Caliberesque about that profile.
The other hot hatch builders with significant levels of experience – Subaru, Ford, VW…all draw the line at significantly less than 300 hp with their FWD models (Subaru of course does not have FWD models…), but no – Honda is going to rewrite the rules of physics.
Honda, and Honda fans, point to the track times that have been achieved with this car as proof that FWD can do it just as fast as AWD…ignoring the fact that those track times include basically zero hard acceleration in first and second gears.
Hey, I have a tuned GTI, and can confirm that if you don’t count those first two gears, FWD and big torque are NO PROBLEM!
This would make some sense if the car were going to be less expensive than the AWD competition, but at a base price north of $38k, it’s just as expensive as a Golf R or a Focus RS, or an STI.
Could it possibly be more awful looking?
“Could it possibly be more awful looking?”
It could be silver.
Thank you. You know that you need a special factory release to buy a Honda/Acura in any other shade.
There must’ve been a hella megadeal on cheap silver paint for JapanInc back in the early ’80s.
I’ve never recovered from the ensuing two decades of roads swimming with Testors Pla Enamel Silver.
One (of several besides its ugliness) huge problem I see, is that the people that make the money to drop $40K on a car, are not going to want to be seen in this thing. It looks like a high-school kid went nuts at Pep-Boys with add-ons.
This should be a great car (I’ve driven the regular 1.5 turbo hatchback), but it is hideous as hell and while I can tolerate the regular hatchback, this is too much. As a die-hard fan of double-wishbone Hondas, it’s good to see Honda getting their engineering prowess back, but they’ve lost their functional designs along the way.
The first Civic Type-R was beautiful in its purity and functionality. This is not.
Anything from the euro Honda catalog would be an improvement….even this “ADP Sticker” Special.
I can’t think of anything from the current catalog in the US that an enthusiast would want to own, other than the Unicorn NSX. The prior TL in PS AWD was fast if bland, but now, nothing…..
and my brother has a perfect Civic Si from the 80’s in the garage…..
Civic Type R – Goes like stink because it looks like stink.