Honda Civic Type R: three special predecessors

1. First Honda Civic Type R

The first surprise was that there was even a Civic Type R. That happened at the end of the last century. For the first time in the already extensive career of the Civic, there was a full-fledged hot hatch version. Of course, earlier Civics already had fast versions, but Honda didn’t go as far as the Type R before. The first Civic Type R immediately became quite a stunner, with a stripped interior for weight savings in combination with a 185 atmospheric hp 1.6 as a power source. In addition, the first Type R had a more nimble gearbox with short ratios, a differential lock and a considerably stiffer chassis than usual, for better throwing and throwing work. The tone was set.

2. Civic Type R sedan

Honda further refined the Type R concept in the two generations of Civic that followed. Something special happened with the third Civic Type R. There were two different versions. Of the Civic presented in 2005, you had the very different hatchback (the ‘spaceship’) and the Civic sedan, which is only sold as a hybrid here in the Netherlands. The latter was a bit the sufferer version of the two here, but that was different in home country Japan. There they only knew the Civic sedan of that generation as the Type R. With its 225 hp 2.0, it was also more powerful than ‘our’ then Civic Type R based on the hatchback. In terms of weight, the two barely differed from each other and things like a limited slip differential, stiffer chassis, large Brembo brake discs and independent rear suspension were all present.

3. Fourth Civic Type R

The Honda Civic Type R that appeared afterwards, made its predecessors forget in one fell swoop on several fronts. There was a huge growth spurt in wealth. The Civic Type R, which was discontinued in 2011, still had to make do with more than 200 hp, but in 2015 the new Civic Type R appeared with a blown 310 hp 2.0. A Civic that seemed developed more than ever for one purpose: to drive hard. Where the Volkswagen Golf GTI or even R, for example, was also quite tamed and used almost inconspicuously for daily use, the Civic Type R became an almost constant wild beast. Not least because of the striking appearance, because the Type R was fitted with a body kit and a rear spoiler that put all form of modesty in the trash. It laid the foundation for a new era of Civic Type R. A vision that the new Civic Type R also seems to adhere to.