..:: AUTO REPORT AFRICA ::..
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The world’s most keenly anticipated hot hatch, the all-new Honda Civic Type R, has arrived in South Africa. Billed as a ‘race car for the road’, this latest-generation Civic Type R delivers unrivalled performance and driving involvement.
In a statement obtained by AUTO REPORT AFRICA, director of operations at Honda Motor Southern Africa, Graham Eagle, said: “The all-new Honda Civic Type R is the most extreme and highest performing Type R ever built, and sets new standards in the fiercely contested high-performance front-wheel drive hatchback segment.
“Boasting an all-new forced-induction VTEC Turbo engine, advanced new suspension systems and purposeful styling that delivers the visual excitement expected of a Type R while enhancing performance and stability, the new Civic Type R sets new benchmarks for power delivery, handling dynamics and overall driving thrills.”
This exhilarating new model signals the start of a new performance era for Honda, drawing on the brand’s racing DNA to occupy the top position in the Honda Civic line-up.
“Part of a wave of next-generation, all-new Honda vehicles, the new Civic Type R demonstrates the brand’s pioneering approach to technological innovation which makes life better for its customers,” Eagle concluded in the statement issued Tuesday.
Inspired by the Japanese word ‘buttigiri’, which translated means ‘to break through and leave the rest behind’, Honda’s engineers sought to develop a Type R that would more than live up to the high expectations associated with the red badge.
The new Civic Type R has been engineered to deliver a dynamic, class-leading performance regardless of whether it’s being driven on fast roads, through a twisty mountain pass, or on a racing circuit. At the same time, it remains true to the ease of use and practical packaging expected of a Civic.
The new Type R combines a world-first application of Honda’s new VTEC Turbo engine with a sensuous sporting sound, to aggressive function-led styling and pioneering new chassis technologies. The result is a profound driving machine: a super hatch equally at home on the road as it is on the track, at the push of a button.
Offered as a full-specification five-door model, the Civic Type R is set to catapult Honda back to the top of the two-wheel drive performance hatchback league.
Tested for success: lap record around the legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife
As part of a rigorous and detailed development and testing programme, a pre-production development Honda Civic Type R achieved a lap time of 7 min 50,63 sec around the legendary 20,8 km Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit in Germany. This time is unmatched by any other front-wheel drive performance hatchback.
The lap time was achieved during the final phase of pre-production testing in May 2014 by a Civic Type R development car in a standard state of engine tune, with suspension, drivetrain, exhaust, brakes and the aerodynamic package identical to those of the production Civic Type R.
The removal of equipment such as air conditioning, the front passenger seat and audio equipment offset the additional weight of a full roll cage (installed specifically for safety reasons, and not to add rigidity).
During the test cycle, the development car used production-specification high-rigidity 19-inch alloy wheels. These were fitted with the 235/35 R19 Continental SportContact 6 road tyres developed specifically for the new Civic Type R.
The Type R has since become the first production vehicle to be fitted with the new Continental SportContact 6 as original equipment.
Pricing
The new Honda Type R is available in limited numbers through Honda Motor Southern Africa’s national dealer network.
The retail price of R586 400 includes a five-year/200 000 km warranty, and a five-year/90 000 km service plan, while a three-year AA Roadside Assistance package is also included. Services are at 15 000 km intervals.
