Honda's hot new Civic Type R finally hatches in production form

[Civic Type R News]

Takanobu Ito may be stepping down as president and CEO of Honda, but as far as performance machinery is concerned, he'll be leaving the company in good shape. Not only has he ushered Honda back into Formula One ? reviving the legendary partnership with McLaren ? but he's also brought back two performance icons: the NSX and the Civic Type R. The former is making its European debut here at the Geneva Motor Show after its premier in Detroit, but alongside it we're seeing for the first time the production version of the latter.

Not that it's exactly our first look at the new hot hatch. We've seen it testing, seen a couple of concept versions and even drove an early prototype. But after that whole lengthy process, it's finally here. (Or there, we should say, because it won't be coming to America. At least not in its current form.)

What we're looking at, according to the manufacturer, is not only the fastest and most powerful front-drive hot hatch it's ever made, but on the market altogether. It packs a 2.0-liter VTEC turbo four kicking out 306 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque ? the most powerful production engine the company has ever offered ? said to be enough to propel the new Civic Type R to 62 in 5.7 seconds and on to a top speed of 167 miles per hour.

That's a whole lot of muscle to channel to the front wheels, but Honda's surely done its best to keep it all under control. It's got an old-school six-speed manual transmission, electric power steering, 19-inch wheels, Brembo brakes, adaptive dampers and a suspension designed to combat torque steer and tuned to enhance high-speed stability and support hard cornering.

In addition to extensive testing at locations including the N?rburgring, Suzuka and the company's own Takasu test track, the new Civic Type R has also undergone considerable CFD and wind tunnel testing to tune the aerodynamics. The resulting appendages may be toned down slightly from the concepts, but still make quite a visual impact ? to say nothing of generating much-needed downforce to keep this sucker glued to the road or track.

And as you might expect, the interior has been upgraded extensively to create the right environment from which to summon this hot hatch's considerable capabilities ? complete with deep buckets trimmed in grippy synthetic suede and a machined aluminum gear knob.

Article By Noah Joseph