By: IOL Motoring Staff
Cape Town - Honda's hottest hatch yet, the all-new Honda Civic Type R, is here in South Africa, ready to do battle with its European rivals.
And it brings a big punch to the fight, courtesy of a direct-injection two-litre Vtec turbopetrol four, for which the maker claims 228kW at 6500 revs and 400Nm at 2500rpm, driving the front wheels via a six-speed manual transmission.
The result, says Honda, is a 0-100km/h getaway in 5.7 seconds and 270km/h flat out.
Which would usually be a recipe for vicious torque steer, but Honda insists that it has kept the red-hot R under control with a new dual-axis strut front suspension and dual-pinion electric power steering.
We'll take that under advisement until Denis Droppa of our print sister publication Star Motoring gets back from the South African launch at Killarney Raceway in Cape Town and gives us his driving impressions - stay tuned!
New Civic Type R is really potent
A further civilising influence, says the maker, is a new adaptive damping system that limits both pitch and roll for a flat ride, with an “+R” button in the cockpit that tightens up both the throttle response and torque mapping of the engine, reduces power assistance to the steering and increases basic damping force by 30 percent.
The Type R rolls on special lightweight 19 inch rims shod with 235/35 Continental SportContact 6 road tyres developed specifically for this car, over an uprated Brembo brake package, also unique to this m model, with four-piston callipers on 350mm drilled front discs doing most of the work.
The new Civic Type R is available in five colours - red, white, metallic blue, metallic silver and pearlescent black - in five-door format only, with high-backed sports front seats trimmed in suede-effect black fabric.
The upholstery is double-stitched in red, as are the leather-clad steering wheel and gear-lever gaiter, while the gar-lever knob is machined from a solid block of aluminium alloy.
RUNNING THE 'RING
As part of the pre-production test programme, Honda took a Civic Type R development mule to the Nurburgring. The 'Ring Stinger was as per the production version, except for the removal of the air conditioning, audio system and front passenger seat and the installation of a full roll-cage (which brought the car's weight back close to standard).
Its best lap was a howling 7m50.63s - on production tyres - a new benchmark for a front-wheel drive hatch in standard street trim.
WANT ONE?
The new Honda Civic Type R is available now at R586 400, which includes a five-year or 200 000km warranty, a five-year or 90 000km service plan and a three-year AA Roadside Assistance package. Your Type R will need to go home to Mama once a year or every 15 000km, whichever comes first.
IOL