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Civic Type R – Meaning
Civic Type R may sound like an odd choice, especially given the precious metal from Woking, Modena, Stuttgart, and Sant’Agata, but the Civic Type R is as unique as those exotics. There’s a history, a racing ethos, and Honda’s legacy of engineering that’s baked into the Civic’s DNA, and the Type R badge is the embodiment of all of that.
Those who’ve never heard about the Type R’s history, when and why it birth, who helped usher it into existence, or why you should care about Honda’s rad enthusiast skunkworks, The Drive’s wannabe is touring car drivers/editors have your back. Now, let’s wait for the VTEC to kick in, yo, and get to talkin’ about Honda’s Type R.
A Type R is a specific performance specification Honda utilizes for a select few enthusiast cars, such as the Civic Type R. Type Rs are the top-spec performance machines in the Honda/Acura universe, followed by the Si spec. “R,” for those wondering, stands for Racing. Sugoi!
Who Started The Honda Type R Designation?
The first Type R was the brainchild of Honda’s Special Projects Development Manager, Shigeru Uehara. After helping birth the NSX, Uehara tasks with honing the already sharp supercar into something more. The project, according to Uehara, started with a single goal: “The role of the Type R is to provide drivers who love sports driving.” The result of that goal was the NSX-R.
The Type R Designation Changed Through the Company’s History
Type project to a mainstay of fast Hondas and Acuras, denoting its unique model. Beginning with the NSX, it’s trickled down to cars such as the Integra, the Accord, and the vehicles that have made the Type R nameplate world-renown, Honda Civics.
The Type R Designation Originate
Though it didn’t adopt the Type R mantle, the 1992 NSX-R was the first of its name. That first Type R got suspension upgrades, aerodynamic changes, bigger tires, and saw drastic weight-reduction thanks to Honda’s engineers pulling the car’s audio system, HVAC, sound-deadening, and electric windows. A Japanese domestic market-only sell until 1995.
According to Uehara, development teams across Honda demanded a Type R for their projects. The resulting car was a hit and remained a legend to this day. However, it will be forever known as the car that spawned the Type R designation? to the rest of Honda’s performance department.
Models Currently Feature the Honda Type R
Currently, there’s only one Honda product that features the Type R designation, the outgoing 10th-generation Civic. The current Civic Type R power by a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine puts out 306 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. That performance is sent to the front wheels, and the front wheels alone, via a 6-speed manual transmission and wildly tricky front differential that eliminates torque steer. This Civic Type R also has the most drastic and polarizing styling of any Type R, with loads of aerodynamic flourishes, canards, wings, intakes, big wheels, fender flares, and a three-port central exit exhaust.
Past Type R Models
There were two generations of Integra Type R, the DC2 and DC5 generations. The United States only got the DC2-generation Integra Type R, and it LaBelle as an Acura. However, it wasn’t a carbon copy of the Japenese-market Integra Type R.
The DC2 Integra Type R used the B18C 1.8-litre four-cylinder VTEC engine. It was rated 197 horsepower and 130 pound-feet of torque thanks to higher compression, bigger cams, a larger throttle body, and a more voluminous exhaust manifold. It also came with a close-ratio 5-speed manual transmission and got better suspension, brakes, chassis bracing, and wheels and tires. And like the NSX-R, it saw extensive light-weighting. The interior and exterior of the car also had a handful of sporty modifications, including higher tachometers, wings, intakes, and Recaro bucket seats.
Accord Type R
The Accord Type R was only available during the car’s sixth generation. For Euro and JDM markets only, the Accord Type R used two different chassis, the CL1 and CH1. Japan’s Accord Type R used the CL1, while Europe made do with the CH1. Both power by Honda’s legendary naturally aspirated 2.2-liter four-cylinder engine, H22A7 or “Red Top” VTEC, and produced a claimed 217 horsepower
Engine, Transmission
A turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder will power the new Honda Type R, but it’ll be more potent than the current generation that makes 306 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque. Honda has confirmed that the mightiest Civic will still have a standard manual transmission, and we think it might also add a dual-clutch automatic to match the Hyundai Veloster N.
The upcoming Type R won’t have a new chassis but rather an evolution of the one that underpinned the outgoing model. We believe that rules out adopting a control-arm front suspension—as seen on the Acura TLX. Instead, the front-drive-only Honda will probably continue to use its innovative dual-axis strut front suspension to suppress torque steer. While the next Civic Type R won’t be as visually extreme, it’ll still have a prominent rear wing, aerodynamic addenda, and 20-inch wheels wrapped with sticky performance tires.
Performance of Honda Models
The performance of the Type R nameplate. Here are the most prevalent ones.
Wowza. The first proper Type R racer wasn’t built by Honda but by the fabled Japanese tuner Spoon Sports. Spoon took an EK9 Type R and built it up for N1 Racing, including a new redline of 11,000 RPM.
After that, RealTime Racing took an Integra Type R to the SPEED Touring Car Championship in 2002. The team won 23 races. Five driver’s championships and four manufacturer’s championships behind the Integra Type R’s wheel.
There’s a new Civic coming in 2022, and with that. There will likely be another Civic Type R especially given the current generation’s success.
NSX Type R
Our interests pique. Long-rumoured to be the NSX’s mid-cycle update. A Type R NSX a hard-core track-oriented hybrid supercar. Though the “R” in Type R suppose to stand for Racing. There isn’t the type of deep racing history as you’d expect.
Conclusion
The 2021 Honda Civic Type-R doesn’t just accelerate quickly; it also has incredible stopping power that instils confidence in Brandon drivers. The car comes to a standstill from 60 MPH in only 107 feet, which is also the best in its class. The Honda Civic Type R delivers a smooth ride and unforgettable performance from acceleration to braking time and handling on curves!
Whether you’ve been a sedan driver for a long time or not. Chances are you are aware of the Hond Civic. This new sedan is one of the popular choices among many drivers with various lifestyles. If interest in one for your Winterhaven commutes, you’ll want to see all of the 2022 Honda.
Also Read: What is Honda Valkyrie? – Introducing, Power, Foundation, And More