We head out to Belgium to see the new Honda Civic Type R concept car, and talk to the fans that Honda invited along to get a look at the car.
If you’re a hot-hatch making legend like one day then how do you work out the reaction to your new car the years out in the wilderness well it’s simple you bring along your comeback kids the new civic type-r concept here to the wonderful spa-francorchamps circuit in belgium during the middle of a world touring car championship weekend you invite along 200 hard civic
Type-r owners from all across europe you show them the car you bite your nails and you ask do you like it and this is what they’re all here to sleep the new honda civic type-r turbo concept car it’s 2 litre turbocharged vtec will develop between 276 300 frake horsepower going to under all of which is delivered to the front wheels by a limited slip differential
And old-school manual gearbox i managed to peer inside through the heavily tinted glass and spotted in alcantara steering wheel and some bucket seats similar to those in a mclaren 650s honda promises this will be the fastest fro drive road car ever around the nurburgring and look almost as tasty as this very menacing design study but what type are fans reckon
Yeah i pretty like it i like it actually i heard they’re going to change some small things with the concept but ah but still it looks it looks really good it looks amazing hopefully hana thinks the same and we’ll get it this way on the street well if now the engine is it’s okay well i really think about buying buying one mabry knows me from obviously the civic
Type-r website and obviously they know that i’ll be up probably first in line sort of to get one if i get one i’m going to keep it as it is to play with it um just keep it stuck i think that’s the way they designed it that’s the way they made it and i think that’s the way she keeps the maker intended i’m going to reserve judgment for the tester on i’m definitely
Going to test drive on i’ve already got my name on the list with my local dealership for a test drive i’m not a civic fun but i quite like this now you know i’ve gotten there done it it’s quite a nice girl with the verdict on the new type are seeming positive it was time for a my myself just but we can’t wait the litter of hot wanders in the ultimate high bar
Okay now this is a little bit of a treat honduras somehow managed to organize all 200 civic type-r owners who are here today at the spa franck ashram circuit in belgium to have a couple of parade laps around this absolutely wonderful 4.3 mile circuit that we all know and love from the grand prix now as we pull out onto the circuit you might be able to tell that
I’m in the weapon of choice here this as we tip into a rouge is one of the 20 infamous civic type-r mugen editions you might remember this car from a couple of years ago in the uk it showed up with its bookcase balanced on the rear window there with a price tag of thirty eight thousand five hundred ninety nine pounds now that seems a mad amount for a civic even
Now but if you actually dig into this car there is some way you can justify and take the engine it’s still a naturally aspirated 2-liter four-cylinder engine of easic of course but it was taken off the production line move and went to town on it they installed a stainless-steel exhaust system new pistons new cams they raised the red line from eight thousand three
Hundred to eight thousand six hundred rpm and really completely you just turn this thing into an absolute monster so what have we got well for a start that process i think it costs sixteen thousand pounds for the components and the under labor to turn this engine into what we’ve got under the bonnet here and it took seven days the results powers up from 198 brake
Horsepower to 237 we’ve got 15 pounds feed more torque as well now wowwhat circuit this is the figures aren’t really the story of this car it does 60 in six seconds at 150 miles an hour flat-out i mean that’s quick but nothing to write home about these days but it’s the delivery that is absolutely spellbinding in this car the engine is amazing from 5,500 rpm up to
About eight and a half thousand you get it up it here we’re doing 5,000 and the entrance is going faster and faster it’s an absolute out-of-body experience in this car it’s amazing and then you just start to think well maybe it can justify that price in fact is you really get at this engine you start to think honda what are you doing putting a turbo the new type
Are just somehow work your magic give us another one of these engines it really is just i popping li good unfortunately then he comes to the mugen chassis and that’s not a popping li good it’s all rattling li well controversial let’s say let’s be kind this cars actually stiffer than the already stiff civic and civic type-r fm to generation and on uk roads it’s just
So harsh i drove this thing from central london down to spa last night about 380 miles i need a spa break afterwards it’s so loud the stainless-steel exhaust is booming i used a decibel app on my phone to check how loud this thing is and it’s like being on the deck of an aircraft carrier at takeoff speed it’s so loud and the right crashes even though this thing’s
Got lighter other wheels that we’ll come to in a minute it’s really not a refined long-distance cruiser especially when it’s doing 4000 rpm at 75 mile an hour cruise really in the uk you’d have to be so in the mood so hardcore to be driving on these things or to find out it’s best you’ve really got to be on a race track so what else have we got here modification
Wise well we’ve got forged 18-inch mugen alloy wheels they weigh about 7 kilos which is a massive saving an unsprung weight and then they’re wrapped on this car in sticky bridgestone potenza tires now also under those you’ve got upgraded brakes of course the upgraded suspension that we’ve talked about cosmetically well there’s a body kit and three ancillary dials
Here telling me various temperatures and pressures which all clubs together to make the moving look and feel a bit like a something out of a dom toretto fast and furious fancy you’ve really got to be in the mood and really sure of itself to be suppose seen in this car and to want to take it out but i tell you what if honda can sprinkle just some of the fairy dust
Of this thing especially when it’s about 9,000 rpm on to the new turbo civic type r and then equip that car with a 150 percent more refinement in this car and then if it delivers on that nurburgring promise have been the fastest front-wheel drive car ever to lap the naud schleifer then i’ll show you i’ll make it one the best hot hatches on the planet we can’t wait
To find out click on the video windows to watch our first look at the new civic type-r and to hear from lamborghini owners of the brand’s 50th birthday click on the play icon to watch our latest video and hit the auto express logo to subscribe
Transcribed from video
Honda Civic Type R Concept: exclusive fans' first look By Auto Express