The First Honda Civic Type R To Touch American Soil
(Editor’s Note: I allowed this. Just. Thompson is on notice though, I’ll be taking a heavy editing hand moving forward and will comment below in italics where applicable. Because I can. Perhaps bold italics if he gets too far out of line.)
These past two years have been huge for American car enthusiasts. For the first time ever Ford bestowed us with a Ford Focus RS (which is the best hot hatch). Now for the first time ever Honda is giving enthusiasts the Civic Type R we so rightly deserve!
William Byrd, our guiding god of good grammar (and Thompson’s boss), just announced his hate for the Civic Type R . (“Dislike”, not hate) And he claims it’s not for SEO purpose, yea, right (Gotta pay the bills). I think he’s wrong (I’m not.). And I love it so much I want to shout it from the top of a mountain! Volkswagen, Ford, and Subaru are doing it all wrong. A hot hatch needs to be bold, loud and proud. And that’s exactly what the 2017 Honda Civic Type R is all about. You are not mistaking the Type R for a base model Honda Civic like you would do with its competitors (Agree on the VW, maybe the Subaru, but not the Ford. An RS looks nothing like a base Focus).
Who cares about the specs?
All-wheel-drive, front-wheel-drive, rear-wheel-drive – it doesn’t matter (Except it does). I like that the 2017 Honda Civic Type R is powered by the wrong wheels. It’s more manic. It’s a bit edgy. You can’t drive a spec sheet. So throw numbers at me all day, but I don’t care. If the car doesn’t have some personality, it’s going to be boring to drive (Right off a cliff). The Honda Civic Type R has character in spades and it’s not afraid to show it.
Here’s what matter:
- The heart is a 2.0-liter turbo making 306 -hp and 295 lb-ft of torque
- It has a helical limited-slip differential
- It’s based off the 10th generation Honda Civic hatchback chassis
- $35k will put one in your garage
- It will be at the New York Auto Show on April 12th
- 20-inch wheels with 245/30R 20 tires is standard
- It’s 35lbs lighter then the previous Type R
- It will only be produced with a six-speed manual
- Three exhausts. Not two, not four. THREE!!!! (Which looks stupid)
So don’t listen to Will and go buy one (Agree you should buy one over most other normal cars, but listen to me too). Because if you don’t Honda will go back to making Civics that suck. And lord knows we don’t want that.
(That’s it?)
Watch it Thompson…
hahahahha – love it! Thanks Boss!
I fall kind of in between. The styling is definitely too “boy racer” for my personal taste. But I’m thrilled that Honda is not only making this car, they finally see fit to bestow it upon North American shores. I’m looking forward to seeing it in person at NYIAS!
Yeah, I get that. And I’m 100% in on it being built, it’s just the Honda purist in me that wishes it was more like Type R’s of yore. Instead, it’s like they had a scoop minimum that they were trying to meet. Regardless, I can’t wait to see it.
Yeah, after my BRZ I’m coming to appreciate a subtle performance car for once. OK, the WRX’s hood scoop isn’t subtle, but the rest of the car is. Like the original Civic Type R. I’ll be sure to check out the new one at NYIAS!