Photo: Honda
It’s hard to think of a better hot hatchback than the Civic Type R for the 2021 model year, but Honda did get carried away with the “Limited Edition” option. As opposed to $37,495 excluding destination charge for the bone-stock model, the go-faster package retails at $43,995 in the United States.
Let that sink in for a minute. Now ask yourself what else can you get for $43,995 in terms of performance and standard equipment. Indeed, ladies and gentlemen; Dodge is willing to set you up with the Challenger R/T Scat Pack for only $39,995 while Ford and Chevrolet ask less than that for the Coyote V8 and small-block V8 in the Mustang GT Fastback and Camaro LT1 Coupe.
The question is, what does $6,500 get you over the Civic Type R that we already know and love despite one too many fake air vents? The list of goodies kicks off with Phoenix Yellow paint and gloss-black for the mirrors and roof. Lightweight forged aluminum alloy wheels from BBS save 2.5 pounds per corner, 28 pounds of sound deadening materials have also been removed, and the Michelin tires take full advantage of the retuned suspension system. The Adaptive Damper System, for example, samples inputs 10 times faster than before.
Honda has also worked its magic on the electrically assisted power steering, which is why the Type R Limited Edition is the fastest front-wheel-drive production vehicle at the Suzuka circuit in Japan. Oh, and by the way, only 600 examples are going to be imported to the United States market.
Under the hood, the rarer and more expensive specification of the hot hatchback doesn’t feature any differences over the $37,495 base model. Customers are treated to the same 306 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque as before, channeled to the front axle by a six-speed manual transmission.
A limited-slip differential comes standard, helping the Type R and the Limited Edition carve corners like there’s no tomorrow. Last, but certainly not least, three modes are featured in the guise of Comfort, Sport, and +R that vary the steering assistance, damping force, and throttle mapping.
The question is, what does $6,500 get you over the Civic Type R that we already know and love despite one too many fake air vents? The list of goodies kicks off with Phoenix Yellow paint and gloss-black for the mirrors and roof. Lightweight forged aluminum alloy wheels from BBS save 2.5 pounds per corner, 28 pounds of sound deadening materials have also been removed, and the Michelin tires take full advantage of the retuned suspension system. The Adaptive Damper System, for example, samples inputs 10 times faster than before.
Honda has also worked its magic on the electrically assisted power steering, which is why the Type R Limited Edition is the fastest front-wheel-drive production vehicle at the Suzuka circuit in Japan. Oh, and by the way, only 600 examples are going to be imported to the United States market.
Under the hood, the rarer and more expensive specification of the hot hatchback doesn’t feature any differences over the $37,495 base model. Customers are treated to the same 306 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque as before, channeled to the front axle by a six-speed manual transmission.
A limited-slip differential comes standard, helping the Type R and the Limited Edition carve corners like there’s no tomorrow. Last, but certainly not least, three modes are featured in the guise of Comfort, Sport, and +R that vary the steering assistance, damping force, and throttle mapping.
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