Honda Civic Type R Arrives

Article
Gallery

By Alborz Fallah | June 10th, 2007

After all the things we give the brits, neighbours, Fosters and an endless parade of Ashes thrashings, Honda Australia have finally won a custody battle with Honda UK to bring the Honda Civic Type R to our shores.

After months of speculating, the Type R finally arrived this week from Southampton. The type R is all British, and will make its way to Honda dealerships next year. Honda’s reputation for naturally aspirated engines has been reinforced with the 2.0-litre high-revving engine (148kW of power and 193Nm of torque) found in the Civic.

The Type-R will only come in the three door variant. The engine is coupled to a six-speed manual gearbox (no automatic – thankfully). You also get

cruise control,
dual-zone climate control,
automatic rain-sensing windscreen wipers,
auto on/off headlights,
a CD-player with MP3 and WMA capabilities,
leather-bound tilt and telescopic adjustable steering wheel.

Apart from that, given the tough European safety standard, the Civic Type R comes with everything you could ask for in the safety department. With Honda’s Vehicle Stability Assist (another name for ESP), front, side and curtain airbags, ABS brakes and emergency brake assist, the Type-R gets it all.

For those unfamiliar with Honda engines, the idea (when its time to play) is to redline on every gear change, and where is the redline you ask? 8,000 RPM.

The Type-R may not sound like a quick car from the power figures, however given it only weighs 1345kg, it goes from 0-100km/hr in 6.6 seconds. The hot hatch has a 485 litre boot capacity.

Honda have still not officially released prices and options, but we expect the Type-R to be under 40k on road.

Paul

The 0-100km/h in 6.6secs figure seems unbelieveable, and I dont mean great unbelieveable I mean unbelievable as in not possible. A V6 Camry of by gone eras had 140kw, 260Nm of torque and weighed 1420kg (Im not saying the Camry has anything on this, just this is a yardstick)… it did 0-100km/h in around 8.5seconds. Find it hard to believe 8kw… 70Nm LESS… and 40kg or so… coupled with any other factors you may wanna add like a manual tranny etc…. make it do the 100 in 6.6 seconds. Very optimistic given the figures you have provided.
Damo

I believe it easily. It may not have stacks of torque but it uses it effectively and in a good process. Hence, it doesn’t lack low end torque like the Aurion, and Commodores on the market. I mean come on, V-tec just kicked in yo!!!
ed

Ive read a ton of reviews on the CTR and none of them doubt the stated 0-100km/hr sprint time.

interestingly, the new japanese CTR uses the same engine as the UK one, but its been developed to put out around 222bhp. much more than the UK one so obviously UK honda couldve made this car more powerful too, but they didnt for a reason.

i like to think that 4 bangers are like kung fu movies. and turbo engines or engines with lots of cylinders are like gun-slinging action movies. sure, guns kill people more efficiently, but kung fu is so much more impressive and entertaining. i believe honda is taking a kung fu approach

of course, that means people dont take you seriously when you drive a honda. its always “wheres the turbo?” “where are the cylinders?”. just like saying “where are the guns?” at a kung fu movie. arnold schwarzenegger with a machine-gun is much more intimidating than a shirtless bruce lee. but i still prefer to be bruce lee. it all comes down to preference.

if you can understand my analogy and think that the CTR is kinda like bruce lee, then lets just say this. giving bruce lee a machine gun just wouldnt look right.

so before people diss the civic type r etc. remember what youre comparing it to when u go to diss it

not saying anyone has dissed it lol. just trying to prevent a vtec yo flame war
Paul

On paper though it doesnt seem possible… I can only assume thats its power / torque are produced over a broad band then or something like that.
Tim

Ugly as IMHO.

Hopefully the dash is better the the Integra.

Someone get me a bucket………….
http://www.honda.hardmans.com.au/ Honda Hardman

We have just been appointed as a Honda dealer, but even when the rumours of our appointment started months ago, we started getting enquires for the Civic Type R.

Saw it ‘in the flesh’ at the dealer launch last week.

Working in the industry and looking at cars all day every day can make you a bit circumspect about the appearance of new cars, but on first inspection we like the look of the Type R.

Sales demand will tell in the long run, but the early signs from customer demand are good.

http://www.honda.hardmans.com.au
http://www.auto1.com.au Auto1

As Andre Agassi said: ‘That’s the funny thing about opinions. You don’t need to know anything to have one.’

And as Monty Burns said: ‘I don’t know art, but I know what I hate. And I don’t hate this.’

In fact I like it a lot.

Great looking car. Can’t wait to drive it.
http://www.autoconsultants.com.au Auto

We work in the motor industry with clients here in Australia and overseas and this car has been creating quite a buzz in the industry.

It’s had great reviews in the UK.

Eager to see how well it’s received here.
ed

The civic type r that came before this has the same o-100 time of 6.6 secs. no one doubted that either. The new type r uses the same engine as this older one, but the new type r is heavier than the older one.

most people would think, same engine but heavier body? the 0-100 time should be slower then. but truth is, its not exactly the same engine. honda’s K20 powerplant opens the high cam profile earlier now. instead of unleashing its power at 6000rpm, it now does it at 5400rpm. ever heard of the phrase “vtec kicked in”? well vtec now kicks in earlier. kicking it in earlier makes it faster in reality but it gives you less of a kicking sensation. hence, the attempt to make it more refined. after all, not everyone likes getting punched in the back as soon as the engine hits 6000rpm

also, they made more torque available earlier in the rev range compared to the old one. 142lb-ft at 5,600rpm, rather than 6,500rpm with the old one.

found this: “Other improvements to the power delivery, and the way it’s transmitted to the wheels, include a new electronic drive-by-wire throttle and a shorter-throw gear lever for the six-speed manual ‘box. The sixth gear final-drive ratio has been lowered a little, to ensure that the Type-R just keeps on a-comin’. ”

all this means it can still do the same 0-100 time as the old one. some people who have raced both of them together say the new type r is slightly faster!

at the end of the day, this car isnt made for people who obsess about power figures. so in keeping the power at 198bhp, i think its honda’s way of saying “if you want the fastest hatch, look elsewhere”. a lot of people who like this car like it for its intangible quality. one you only know after getting behind the wheel and driving, or just from looking at it. CAR magazine of UK calls this the new hot hatch king for that quality and for its great mix of rawness and refinement. Top Gear magazine did the same thing by ranking it the number one hot hatch
sashasydneymalehaha

ed, i totally agree with what u said, the car is a bit heavier then the older one but honda did other things to it to make it as quick as old one such as using electronic drive by wire throttle, ONLY FOUND IN NEW BMW 335i twin turbo , and honda civic type R, but this car is more refined , suspension in old one was considered one of the best sports suspensions in the world but it was really stiff, this new one had a budget afforable suspension which is still good but less stiff then in old type R, obovisly any newer version of any car is gonna have improvements in it, everythin bout this car is better then old one, who ever thinks differently needs to go and suck a pole. and Paul, u cant compare camry V6 to a hot hatch like this, electronic drive by wire throttle, u know what that is? dont think u do, this is a sports car not a family sedan, v6 engINe is much heavier then 4 cilinder, and only 140 kws in a v6 is ridiculous. this car is faster then turbo golf GTI, golf 0-100= 7.2 seconds with DSG transmission 6.9 seconds, 147 kws of power and turbo engINe with a lot of torgue, piece of shits thats what it is, that s why they comparin the honda civic type R to the gold GTI edition 30, because its got 225 horse power, 25 more horse then normal GTI and is 6.5 to 100KM/h, i still bet honda would smoke it on a track i tested them both and golf just sucKs.
Simke

Well…
ever since i had my first Honda i have never looked other way. I was looking to buy a big 4WD for work last week on a car yard as i have an old van and I accidentaly saw a RED CTR… didn’t know what it was (as i later found out it was launched on 1st July 07, just a day earlier), but I was stunned. I couldnt beleive my eyes. I own an 88 Civic, owned an 89 Civic and it looks like I am going to own a 07 CTR… By the way i stopped looking for a 4WD. Ill drive the old van until it dies just to get the CTR. As i said, i was STUNNED, and that is not enough to explain how i felt when i actually got a chance to sit in it, to start it, and to see everything that i ever wanted in a car. It is just the best car of its range in Australia. Unfortunately i didnt get a chance to test-drive it but im sure i’ll be driving it for a long time as I am buying the 3rd 08 CTR ever sold in Adelaide. As when it comes to power and speed, i am 100% surethat no holden’s of fords’s V8 and V6 engine power can match the CTR’s uniqueness. When you sit in it you feel like the car is tailor-made just for YOU, and that is what makes this car so special.
numsy

Testing of the CTR in Australia has revealed that none of the performance reviewers were able to get figures faster than 7.6secs for the 0-100km/hr dash. They all commeneted that the figure of 6.6secs was extremely optimstic, and thats coming from both Motor magazine and Wheels magazine Aus.
JDM_cx

fuck u and your power numbers there is no replacement for displacement, honda power through and through.when you are driving your camery i will be passing your ass and the only thing you will hear is the power of dreams……..vtec
john

JDm, no need to get upset, I had a ITR engine in eg9 civic sedan for 7 years, and it did 0-100 around 6.9 -7.3 sec. depends on the air temperature.But with the new typer r, a much lowered diff(4.6990 and bigger rims(18 inch-bad), 6.6 sec is not possible, BUT may be in the cold winter in Russia at 5am, air temperature -5C….
Pingback: Ass Thick Ass Babes Kick Ass
what the ?

this is funny as I doubt any of you have driven both the CTR and GTI… where as I have and I can tell you first hand that the Type R sits flatter/firmer that the GTI, on serious winding roads and track work.. but really how often are you guys doing this?? The GTI kills the civic in a straight line, offers way better comfort, build quality and on a day-to-day basis the Golf wins hands down.. but i do love that vtec sound!!!