The Honda Civic Type R Concept is coming to America.
Jon Ikeda, U.S. Senior Vice President for Honda’s HRC division, confirmed that to Road & Track during last week’s SEMA show in Las Vegas.
This is part of Honda’s plan to turn the HRC performance-parts division into something like Nissan’s NISMO.
Although Ikeda confirmed the Type R HRC version of the Civic, he stopped short of suggesting the Acura Integra Type S will get the same HRC treatment. He did, however, say there is demand for a Type S HRC and that Acura would have to consider building it.
Mechanically speaking, the HRC would get bigger brakes, revised suspension tuning, and 20 more horsepower over a Type R — up to 335. The car would shed 50 pounds, use more carbon fiber, and have forged wheels.
While Ikeda didn’t commit to an Acura version, HRC parts will be available for the Type S.
Pricing would probably start around $45,000. We’ll see the car in full at the Tokyo Auto Salon in January.
Tim’s Take
This is pretty good news for those worrying about the death of the sports car. It shows Honda is still committed to high-performance at a relatively affordable price (before dealer markup, ahem). More important, the existence of an HRC sub-brand to compete with Toyota’s TRD and Nissan’s NISMO is pretty cool. Not only could we see more HRC-massaged cars direct from the factory, but Honda owners will be able to turn to HRC as another option for adding aftermarket performance and appearance parts.
Oh, and using HRC parts won’t void a warranty, the way using third-party parts can. That’s huge for those who want to customize their car.
[Image: Honda]
