It can be remembered that Honda has announced at the beginning of last year that they would be updating their best-selling hot hatch and since then the speed boys have been waiting in anticipation.
And after a seemingly endless run of concepts the wait is finally over, the Type R is finally here and its what the speed boys have hoped it will be-a full-on, flame snorting, Red Bull slurping motor that possess the ground clearance of a Hoover and handling that feels like an adult-sized Scalextric car.
The Type R arrived with all it glinting alloys, flouncing side skirts and a high-revving 235kph 2-liter i-VTEC engine. This car is not for the faint-hearted but for those who prefer to explore their less cautious side. The Type R is considered to be a humdrum Honda Civic which according to observers is quite a turnaround for Honda.
And speaking of Honda Civic, it has been in continuous production for 35 years which is the second longest coming from a Japanese automaker with Toyota Corolla in first place being manufactured four year longer than the Civic.
In the past Honda Civic has gained a reputation as a quietly chivalrous and reliable mode of transport and such reputation is being carried until today by presently manufactured Honda Civics.
There are already a total of eight Civic makeovers and if in the past there was only sense, the new Civics today exudes sensation. The new Type R for instance features a kind of extreme styling that would make angina patients to reach for their pills.
Honda's Type R has swollen with plastic bulges with weird angular shapes which gives the impression of a car-sized espresso machine designed by someone with deep dislike to curves. Everything on the Type R from its triangular exhaust pipes and isosceles lamps, to the honeycomb grille, and arrow-point door handles that are sharp and pointy screams uniqueness.
The arrival of the high-performance Type R variant, Honda has given its customers with a kind of car with the looks that reflects its performance.
Inside the Type R is all about driving experience. The seats are black racing-style buckets with red stitching. The red stitching extends to the steering wheel and gear stick. The sexy design of the Type R's interior is courtesy of Betty Page. The dashboard is built on two tiers and flashes at you madly at both banks as a matter of fact even the center of the steering wheel is an information point and makes you feel that as if you are driving an episode of 24 rather than a hatchback.
The Type R's extraordinary direct steering, stiff ride and limitless power gives it a handling like a macho fairground ride which will somehow makes you a little scared and a bit dizzy.
Honda the producer of high quality has announced last week that the only country aside from those in Europe that will be able to experience the Type R is Australia.
