Swindon, Wiltshire - With the entire automotive world about to descend on Paris for the 2014 Mondial de l'Automobile, Honda has released four pictures and a few tantalising details of the all-new Civic Type R.
According to project leader Suehiro Hasshi, the luminous blue Type R Concept which will be on show in Paris (that’s it in the pictures above) is the latest version; it should be just a few details away from the production version that will reach European showrooms in mid-2015, and South Africa a few months later.
Honda's hottest hatch to date will have a two-litre i-VTEC turbopetrol four that spins to 7000rpm and kicks out “more than 206kW”, making it not only the fastest Civic yet, but the best-performing Type R, period.
It drives the front wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox and a newly-developed 'steer axis' front suspension, an additional mechanical system involving two supporting 'kingpins', to limit torque steer.
A new four-point adaptive damper system has been developed specifically for this car, which automatically adjusts the front and rear suspension damping in a split second, based on driving conditions, giving you a comfortable ride when you're cruising around, but tightening up to race-track firmness as the lateral g forces increase.
The new Civic Type R will also mark the debut of Honda's new '+R' button.
In +R mode engine response is sharper, with torque-mapping changed to a more aggressive setting, the steering becomes more responsive and the adaptive damper system, well, adapts to the new parameters.
Hasshi-san explained: “In default standard mode, the Civic Type R is an agile, drive-it-every-day sports- car with enjoyable, fluid acceleration - but '+R' mode is extreme, more suited to the track than the street, tailored to the genuine sports-driving enthusiast.”
The fourth-generation Civic Type R has been developed and engineered for European driving tastes and will be built at Honda's UK plant in Swindon.