azura
04-11-2006, 09:31 PM
Escape hatch
Honda has never been short of fans of its Type-R cars, and this latest 'concept' - a preview of the forthcoming Honda Civic Type-R - is unlikely to change that.
By calling it the Type-R 'Concept', Honda is giving itself some creative elbow room to make the showcar look as desirable as possible without having to build the road version exactly the same.
No matter: this squat yellow terror is pretty much what we'll be seeing early next year in Civic Type-R badges. And the consensus seems to be: 'Want one', and 'Might be prepared to kill for it'.
It's not hard to see why there's been a positive reaction; not only was the outgoing Civic Type-R a lunchtime legend, it was also practical, reliable, supremely fast in the sector and - most of all - affordable.
We're likely to see a premium for the new car, but with fast models like the Ford Focus ST and Vauxhall Astra VXR priced competitively at under £18,000, don't expect the Honda to stray too much higher and price itself out.
The big news is that this is the three-door bodyshell which we'll see in Europe in standard form later this year, deleting that 'hidden' rear door handle in the C-pillar and making the already wide-tracked Civic look even broader.
It makes the three-door footprint of the new Civic look almost square, especially standing on those smoked 20-inch hoops, but the real car is likely to gain ride height and lose wheel.
The trade-off between looks and sporting performance (in terms of acceleration and positive turn-in) point towards the standard-fit 18-inch wheels that are already an option on the Civic.
It might not look like it, but that bodykit is actually quite subtle; when you consider this hardcore version, it's the madness of the base model that really shines through.
In fact, because the Type-R Concept loses some of the fussy plastic detailing in favour of a darkened theme, it appears to have slightly cleaner lines, especially around the front and rear.
But let's face it, there's still plenty of geometry to take in. This is a car that's all about the wedge, both as a stylistic theme and a basic shape.
Starting at the front, the front airdam is lower and wider, losing the stock car's triangular foglights for the extra black mesh framing a gaping intake, whose downturned corners are reversed in the rear valance.
Honda has never been short of fans of its Type-R cars, and this latest 'concept' - a preview of the forthcoming Honda Civic Type-R - is unlikely to change that.
By calling it the Type-R 'Concept', Honda is giving itself some creative elbow room to make the showcar look as desirable as possible without having to build the road version exactly the same.
No matter: this squat yellow terror is pretty much what we'll be seeing early next year in Civic Type-R badges. And the consensus seems to be: 'Want one', and 'Might be prepared to kill for it'.
It's not hard to see why there's been a positive reaction; not only was the outgoing Civic Type-R a lunchtime legend, it was also practical, reliable, supremely fast in the sector and - most of all - affordable.
We're likely to see a premium for the new car, but with fast models like the Ford Focus ST and Vauxhall Astra VXR priced competitively at under £18,000, don't expect the Honda to stray too much higher and price itself out.
The big news is that this is the three-door bodyshell which we'll see in Europe in standard form later this year, deleting that 'hidden' rear door handle in the C-pillar and making the already wide-tracked Civic look even broader.
It makes the three-door footprint of the new Civic look almost square, especially standing on those smoked 20-inch hoops, but the real car is likely to gain ride height and lose wheel.
The trade-off between looks and sporting performance (in terms of acceleration and positive turn-in) point towards the standard-fit 18-inch wheels that are already an option on the Civic.
It might not look like it, but that bodykit is actually quite subtle; when you consider this hardcore version, it's the madness of the base model that really shines through.
In fact, because the Type-R Concept loses some of the fussy plastic detailing in favour of a darkened theme, it appears to have slightly cleaner lines, especially around the front and rear.
But let's face it, there's still plenty of geometry to take in. This is a car that's all about the wedge, both as a stylistic theme and a basic shape.
Starting at the front, the front airdam is lower and wider, losing the stock car's triangular foglights for the extra black mesh framing a gaping intake, whose downturned corners are reversed in the rear valance.