Honda Civic Type R details
The Civic Type R will get a brand-new 250bhp 1.6-litre turbocharged engine when it arrives in 2015
The new Honda Civic Type R will feature a brand-new 1.6-litre turbocharged, direct-injection engine with more than 250bhp when it arrives in 2015, an inside source has revealed.
Honda also has an eight-speed duel clutch automatic transmission under development, which could be offered in the new hot hatch.
At the Paris Motor Show last month, Honda CEO Takanobu Ito confirmed that the Civic Type R would go on sale in 2015, but refused to elaborate on the details.
He did however confirm that his aim was to make the new Type R the fastest front-wheel-drive model ever around the Nurburgring – a record currently held by the Renaultsport Megane 265 Trophy in eight minutes and eight seconds.
To achieve that the car will need to weigh less than 1,200kg and have a power figure of more than 250bhp, we’ve been told. The engine should have no problem achieving that level of power output - following Gordon Shedden’s victory in the 2012 BTCC Championship driving a Civic, a tuned version will undergo testing next year in Honda’s BTCC car.
Just like the new 247bhp Ford Focus ST, there's no plans to build a three-door Type R, although our source refused to rule out a Type R version of the Civic estate – a new bodystyle that will debut in concept form sometime next year.
