Photo: Carpix
There's a reasonable explanation behind the fact that Honda engineers are spending their summer (the autumn hasn't arrived yet over there) in Spain, testing the upcoming Civic Type R. And while nobody needs explanations when it comes to getting more hot hatches, we'll provide it anyway.
At first, one might wonder why the still-fresh Civic Type R, which is nothing short of a front-wheel-drive hero, be it in a drag race or on the Nurburgring, is being replaced so soon.
Well, Honda has already introduced the tenth incarnation of the Civic outside Europe, but Old Continent buyers are still being treated with the ninth-gen model. Next month's Paris Motor Show will mark the debut of the Euro-spec Civic X and the Type R will have to follow, probably early next year. So seeing the manic compact testing is only normal.
If you can contain your Subaru-related comments for a moment, we'll mention that the hood-mounted air scoop close to the base of the windshield is the only major aero change set to be introduced by the new generation of the fiery hatchback - anybody who's seen the current Type R should already be accustomed to the aggressive approach.
The "VTEC kick in, yo!" times are now behind us, so the upcoming Civic Type R will, once again, say no to natural aspiration. In fact, the vehicle is expected to retain the 2.0-liter turbo-four of the current model. And since we're talking about a front-wheel-drive effort, don't expect the output to outgun the 310 PS (305 hp) and 400 Nm (295 lb-ft) of the 9th-gen car by that much. Oh, and you can also bet on the six-cog manual making it past the generation gap.
And since the current chassis has already been tweaked to a Nurburgring FWD record-setting 7:50, we expect the performance boost delivered by the X model to be owed to the weight reduction brought by the new platform.
Perhaps the most important feature of the new Honda Civic Type R will be its global approach, as the hot hatch is finally coming to the US.
At first, one might wonder why the still-fresh Civic Type R, which is nothing short of a front-wheel-drive hero, be it in a drag race or on the Nurburgring, is being replaced so soon.
Well, Honda has already introduced the tenth incarnation of the Civic outside Europe, but Old Continent buyers are still being treated with the ninth-gen model. Next month's Paris Motor Show will mark the debut of the Euro-spec Civic X and the Type R will have to follow, probably early next year. So seeing the manic compact testing is only normal.
If you can contain your Subaru-related comments for a moment, we'll mention that the hood-mounted air scoop close to the base of the windshield is the only major aero change set to be introduced by the new generation of the fiery hatchback - anybody who's seen the current Type R should already be accustomed to the aggressive approach.
The "VTEC kick in, yo!" times are now behind us, so the upcoming Civic Type R will, once again, say no to natural aspiration. In fact, the vehicle is expected to retain the 2.0-liter turbo-four of the current model. And since we're talking about a front-wheel-drive effort, don't expect the output to outgun the 310 PS (305 hp) and 400 Nm (295 lb-ft) of the 9th-gen car by that much. Oh, and you can also bet on the six-cog manual making it past the generation gap.
And since the current chassis has already been tweaked to a Nurburgring FWD record-setting 7:50, we expect the performance boost delivered by the X model to be owed to the weight reduction brought by the new platform.
Perhaps the most important feature of the new Honda Civic Type R will be its global approach, as the hot hatch is finally coming to the US.
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