Honda has revealed the new Honda Civic Si – in both coupé and sedan guise – in the United States ahead of its official debut at the New York International Auto Show.
The Japanese brand says the new “sporty Si variants are designed for the everyday enthusiast”, essentially bridging the gap to the hardcore, range-topping Civic Type R.
“The 2017 Honda Civic Si is our first turbocharged Si and sets a new sporty compact benchmark in terms of agility and precise handling while building toward the launch of the Type R as the final chapter in our epic 10th-generation Civic story,” said Jeff Conrad, senior vice president automobile division, American Honda.
The new Civic Si is powered by a 1,5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine with dual variable cam timing. Mated to a short-throw, six-speed manual gearbox, Honda says the powertrain provides more low-end grunt and increased torque output across the engine’s rev range compared to the previous Si. Peak outputs come in at 153 kW and 260 N.m (compared to the Type R’s 235 kW and 400 N.m).
Other upgrades include variable steering ratios, a “sport-tuned” suspension, an adaptive damper system, a helical limited-slip differential, uprated brakes and wider 235/40 R18 tyres.
Although it seems highly unlikely that the new Civic Si variants will be introduced to South Africa any time soon, there’s always the outside chance that this new, more powerful 1,5-litre engine (the 1,5 in Honda SA’s current Civic line-up makes 127 kW and 220 N.m) will one day make its way into local models.
