Honda Civic Type-R: first official images
Newswheel staff :: 14 September 2006 :: Filed under Hatchback, Honda, Honda Civic, Europe & UK
[Click on an image to view]
What price progress?
More refined but no quicker than the outgoing model. And available with dual-zone air con and cruise control. Not quite the road-racing repertoire you might expect from a new ricer-ready Type-R model from Honda (that’s enough r’s, Ed)…
Latest Type-R body kit includes spoilers front and rear, a mesh grille and body-coloured wheel arch extensions (click for high res images)
Once again, power is provided by a four-pot VTEC lump displacing two litres. But the engine has been reworked with more emphasis on usable torque - the cam switch to high-lift, long duration valve timing now takes place a little lower in the rev range at 5,200rpm. The unit still winds out to 8,000rpm and 198bhp (the old Type-R produced 197bhp at 7,400rpm), however, so rev-tastic VTEC thrills will undoubtedly be on offer. A new drive-by-wire throttle control and balancer shaft are said to further improve responsiveness.
As for performance, despite a little extra weight, the headline 6.6 second figure for the zero-to-62mph sprint is more or less identical to the outgoing Civic Type-R. Top speed is 146mph.
Chassis wise, the new Type-R shares a 20mm wider track with the warmed-over Civic Type-S, but has unique spring, bush and damper settings. It also rides 15mm lower than the S. Wheels are beefy 18-inch items with 225/40 ZR18 boots all round, but notably not as dramatic as the 19-inchers on the Type-R concept shown in Geneva and London. The steering rack, meanwhile, gets a quicker ratio and stiffer mountings and the chassis has been strengthened with extra cross members straddling the central fuel tank and just ahead of the engine bay and across the top suspension mountings.
A comfort-orientated GT version will also be offered which adds cruise control, dual zone air conditioning, fog lights, automatic lights and wipers and curtain SRS bags.
The Civic Type-R goes on sale March 2007. Pricing has not been announced.
Posted 20 December 2006, by vincent Kraak
I´m looking for thouse pictures in high resolutions. Could you send them?