Photo: trubni89 via Instagram
The Honda Civic, particularly in its hotter Type-R version, has always held a special place among the rest of the models on sale at a certain time. Maybe it wasn't the best, the quickest, or even the best-looking hatchback of the moment, but everyone knew a Civic when they saw one.
There have been a few iconic models along the way, such as the fourth generation - one of the symbols of the late '80s era - or the eighth one, launched in the mid-2000s, featuring one of the greatest leaps in design from one generation to another the industry had ever seen. And, unlike what we've seen recently from other manufacturers (yes, BMW, we're looking at you), this seemed to be a departure in the right direction.
If we're on the subject of design, however, it's worth pointing out that things haven't necessarily gone that smoothly from that point on. We've now reached the tenth generation and it's fair to say the current Civic has its fair share of doubters. Some people feel the car has become a bit of a caricature with its over-the-top aerodynamic elements. The fact most of them are also fake is only adding insult to injury.
The frustrating bit is that chassis- and engine-wise, the Civic Type-R has never been in a better place. The Japanese hot hatch even held the lap record at the Nürburgring for front-wheel-drive models for a while. Even though Renault launched a special version of its Megane RS to claim that title for itself in the meantime, the simple fact the French car was able to beat it by four seconds doesn't make the Civic's effort any less impressive.
Everyone knows how good the current Civic Type-R is, but if you've had any friends that were in the market for a hot hatch recently, maybe you heard this line first-hand yourself: "I just can't get over the way it looks." By definition, hot hatches are meant to appeal to what we sometimes derogatorily call "boy racers", but the Type-R has taken things too far even for that type of demographic.
Well, an independent designer calling himself trubni89 thinks he may have found a solution, and if the briefing was to bring simplicity and understated sportiness back to the Civic Type-R's design, then we too would agree. However, can you spot what the big problem with his rendering is?
You probably already have: it's the lack of a grille and everything that comes with this omission. Indeed, the main reason this Civic looks so fresh is that trubni89 decided to future-proof it by giving it an all-electric powertrain. He doesn't specifically talk about it ,but with a front end that's best described as "an angry Tesla Model 3", he didn't really need to.
An electric powertrain also means the Civic should probably lose its FWD architecture. Yes, there are FWD EVs out there, but considering this is supposed to be a performance machine, having all that torque interfering with the steering when moving the motor to the rear axle is such a simple operation would make no sense. We could, however, be looking at an AWD Civic Type-R, and that's a prospect we can't say we're not enjoying.
Trubni89 went one step further and designed a Honda CRX coupe as well. The two cars aren't as detailed as renderings we've seen from other artists, but they do show you can be a very talented designer with an eye for volumes and styling without being an expert 3D artist as well.
If we're on the subject of design, however, it's worth pointing out that things haven't necessarily gone that smoothly from that point on. We've now reached the tenth generation and it's fair to say the current Civic has its fair share of doubters. Some people feel the car has become a bit of a caricature with its over-the-top aerodynamic elements. The fact most of them are also fake is only adding insult to injury.
The frustrating bit is that chassis- and engine-wise, the Civic Type-R has never been in a better place. The Japanese hot hatch even held the lap record at the Nürburgring for front-wheel-drive models for a while. Even though Renault launched a special version of its Megane RS to claim that title for itself in the meantime, the simple fact the French car was able to beat it by four seconds doesn't make the Civic's effort any less impressive.
Everyone knows how good the current Civic Type-R is, but if you've had any friends that were in the market for a hot hatch recently, maybe you heard this line first-hand yourself: "I just can't get over the way it looks." By definition, hot hatches are meant to appeal to what we sometimes derogatorily call "boy racers", but the Type-R has taken things too far even for that type of demographic.
Well, an independent designer calling himself trubni89 thinks he may have found a solution, and if the briefing was to bring simplicity and understated sportiness back to the Civic Type-R's design, then we too would agree. However, can you spot what the big problem with his rendering is?
You probably already have: it's the lack of a grille and everything that comes with this omission. Indeed, the main reason this Civic looks so fresh is that trubni89 decided to future-proof it by giving it an all-electric powertrain. He doesn't specifically talk about it ,but with a front end that's best described as "an angry Tesla Model 3", he didn't really need to.
An electric powertrain also means the Civic should probably lose its FWD architecture. Yes, there are FWD EVs out there, but considering this is supposed to be a performance machine, having all that torque interfering with the steering when moving the motor to the rear axle is such a simple operation would make no sense. We could, however, be looking at an AWD Civic Type-R, and that's a prospect we can't say we're not enjoying.
Trubni89 went one step further and designed a Honda CRX coupe as well. The two cars aren't as detailed as renderings we've seen from other artists, but they do show you can be a very talented designer with an eye for volumes and styling without being an expert 3D artist as well.
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