JAPAN – I love surprises. Especially the automotive kind where you attend a conservative technology show like the 2017 Honda Meeting only to find a bright white Civic Type R waiting on the dynamic handling track at the research and development facility in Tochigi.
Honda deemed it appropriate for us to experience the handling potential of the new (not yet launched) Type R, which is underpinned by the latest Civic platform (torsional rigidity is up by 38 %) featuring independent rear suspension. The wheelbase has been lengthened and the track broadened compared to the outgoing version and this gives it an even more aggressive and purposeful stance.
Getting in
After two sighting laps in a dynamic development Civic sedan test mule fitted with Honda’s 1,5-litre turbopetrol engine, it was my turn to get behind the wheel of the “R”. There are no straights on the short course, which is formed by sweeping bends of varying radii. I clamber into the cabin and there is little time to admire the changes, although I do notice that the facia is in line with the current Civic, with added Type R touches.
More importantly, the bucket seats are figure-hugging and the short-throw metal shifter feels closer to the steering wheel and even more direct than before. The instructor gives the go-ahead and we leave the pits in Comfort mode, the softest setting of three, including Sport and R+. Because we get only two laps, I was not going to hold back and would rather apologise to the instructor later…
Lap one
I mash the throttle to the floor and Type R responds with vigour, forcing me to hook second and third gears rapidly to avoid hitting the rev limiter. The first bend looms and I dab the brakes while turning in. Where the test mule’s tyres protested, the Type R turns in sharply with the rear going light in true hot hatch fashion. The instructor keeps quiet and that silence is music to my ears.
The next turn is a lot tighter, forcing me to add more pressure to the brake pedal with the Brembo set-up responding beautifully. The shift to second gear is met by perfect rev-matching, a new feature that makes mere mortals feel like racers. The suspension set-up is still firm, even in Comfort mode, and that allows good body control and corner speed. Then the instructor hits the R+ mode for the second lap…
Lap two
Now, the whole vehicle tenses up and responses become extreme. I barrel into the same set of curves at even higher velocities without the Type R flinching. The handling is neutral and the Honda can even be coaxed into slight oversteer at the limit. On some of the long sweeping corners, I eventually have to lift slightly as the laws of physics cannot be rewritten, even with a trick suspension set-up and limited slip differential up front.
Still, this is a hardcore, mighty impressive hot hatch and I can understand why it reclaimed the lap record around the Nordschleife from the impressive Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport S. Did I mention that the Type R still has five doors and a rear bench seat?
Are we getting it?
Honda claims that not only did it increase the pace of the Type R, mostly with suspension fettling (the power is up by just 7 kW), but that it also improved refinement levels. The three exhaust outlets may remind one of a Ferrari F40, but the goal was to lessen the “boom” experienced at cruising speed that plagued the previous model. We will comment on this particular enhancement once we get hold of unit for a longer period of time.
The good news is that the Type R is definitely coming to South Africa and Graham Eagle, vice president Honda Motor Southern Africa, mentioned that the timing may surprise us. As I said before, I love surprises…
