It started out as a concept last year and has completed the circle as it finally made its production debut at this year’s Geneva Motor Show. Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you the absolutely bonkers 2016 Honda Civic Type R, the newest and mightiest Type R to come from Japan. It is by far the ‘hottest’ (not hot, not hotter and not one of the hottest, but the hottest) hatchback that you can get your hands on, especially if you’re European. What makes it so special? A five-year long wait and some outrageous power outputs that makes it the fastest front wheel driven car on a certain ‘ring, but more on that later.
Meanwhile, let’s discuss the beast that is hidden under the sculpted hood of the 2016 Honda Civic Type R. Aptly a road-ready race car, this is the first-ever turbocharged Type R and is powered by a 2.0-litre direct-injection turbo VTEC 4-cylinder engine that produces a whopping 310 PS of power and ginormous 400 Nm of torque. Both being the highest power outputs ever seen on a Civic Type, all this power is sent to the front wheels via the best suited 6-speed manual gearbox. So what exactly do you achieve with these numbers? A little bit of madness, that can be measured to hit you from standstill to a 100 km/hr in a mere 5.7 seconds. The top speed is a not so humble 270 km/hr.
While power is one thing, styling is another and gladly the 2016 Honda Civic Type R has both. A looker from every angle, the sharp lines on the Civic are accentuated with the performance upgrades including the large air intakes, front splitter and the ultra cool ventilated fenders. The side profile looks equally menacing with additional side skirts while the rear gets a towering wing and race styled diffuser that also houses the quad exhausts. There is also a flat underbody tray to enhance the aerodynamics on the performance hatch and a little extra for the GT version will also get you red accents to the front and rear spoiler as well as a tonne of safety features. For anyone who ever called a Civic boring, you might want to look again.
Fun fact! The new Civic Type R also gets a host of performance upgrades that simply do the job of keeping you alive as you play around with 310 horses and 400 Nm of torque. The Type R rides on specially designed ultra-low profile 235/35 19-inch wheels, Brembo brakes with front rotors and four-piston calipers along with a dual axis strut front suspension that helps to moderate torque steer on this front wheel driven mammoth while the rear suspension gets a torsion beam with H-shaped section for greater rigidity. Lastly, the steering is a rack-mounted, electrically assisted system for precise changes.
On the inside, Honda has equipped the 2016 Civic Type R with sports seats upholstered in the very cool black suede with contrast red stitching, flat bottom steering wheel and a short machined gear knob for quick changes. With all that power, the Civic Type R can also be your daily driver car and comes with all the essential creature comforts, including navigation, climate control, traffic sign recognition system and a lot more. You also get a special ‘+R’ button next to the start-stop button that puts the dampers on the firmest setting and also tightens the steering wheel for the sharpest response.
Now, coming back to the Civic Type R being the fastest front wheel driven car on a certain ‘ring. The 2016 Civic Type R lapped the coveted Nurburgring circuit in 7:50.63 seconds, a record that was set in the final stages of development of the car. To give you perspective, the new Type R manages to beat the diet conscious Renault Megane RS 275 Trophy-R, the previous fastest vehicle by almost 4 seconds. In the racing world that is centuries apart. Feisty isn’t it, so if you’re European or have a penchant for front wheel drive cars, this is the car to spend all your savings on. We know we would.
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