RE: Honda Civic Type R Mugen Driven

RE: Honda Civic Type R Mugen Driven

Monday 10th August 2009

Honda Civic Type R Mugen Driven

PH gets a world-first spin behind the wheel of the Super-Civic


Poring over these pictures of the Honda Civic Type R Mugen Concept, it is possible to draw several conclusions, depending upon your preconceptions of Honda, and of hot hatches in general.

World-first: nobody outside Mugen had driven the Type R concept before PH
World-first: nobody outside Mugen had driven the Type R concept before PH

You might think that, however good Mugen's reputation as a tuner of Honda cars, the latest Euro-spec Honda Civic Type R, with its unyielding twist-beam rear suspension, is never going to be able to mix it with a properly sorted rival with independent rear suspension. You might also think that, despite the undoubted allure of Honda's high-revving VTEC engines, even a tuned version won't be able to compete with the turbocharged European hardcore hatch competition. If you're feeling particularly ungenerous, you might feel that a chap with some time on his hands and some spare parts from Halfords would have done a better job with the body kit.

Mugen-tweaked handling is surprisingly biddable
Mugen-tweaked handling is surprisingly biddable
All these things crossed my mind as myself and lucky PH competition winner Nick (check out the video of Nick's Japanese experience on PH soon) arrived at the Twin-Ring Motegi race track to try out the prototype of Mugen's super-Civic Type R - the first westerners to do so. The rather humble makeshift pit garage - actually nothing more than a couple of shabby-ish hospitality-style tents and awnings - made me still more nervous that this really would be a bit of a Heath Robinson project.

I needn't have worried. There are two things that strike you about the way the Japanese go about their business. The first is that they tend to be very modest about their achievements - hence the shabby gazebo and the generally unglamorous surroundings. The second is that, when they do a job, they do it properly - hence the very serious-looking machine sitting underneath the grubby awnings.

Honestly, that body kit looks better in the flesh
Honestly, that body kit looks better in the flesh
Okay, so some of the body panels are a slightly different shade of red, but that's because a) this is still a development hack and not a series production model and b) the front and rear bumpers and the front wings are all made of fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP). This is part of a weight-saving programme that shaves a significant 105kg off the Civic's kerb weight and also involves the removal of the rear seats.

The engine has also received a similarly extensive going-over. This version of Honda's K20A motor is essentially the same as the one used in the 2007 Mugen RR, a limited run of 300 very hardcore versions of the Japanese domestic market four-door Civic Type R. This means that power is up 39bhp, from 198bhp to 237bhp, while torque is up 14lb ft to a respectable (for a VTEC unit) 162lb ft, thanks to extensive internal changes to the cams, inlet and exhaust systems.

...although that wing does hamper visibility
...although that wing does hamper visibility
Tweaks to the chassis are pretty involved, too, with uprated springs and shocks, while nestling behind the lightweight alloys are 17-inch diameter brakes with bespoke four-piston monoblock callipers (standard CTRs get a single-piston set-up). Partly to accommodate the chunkier brake callipers, the Civic's track has been widened by 10mm. Like the latest Championship White UK-spec Civic Type R, the Mugen concept also has a limited-slip diff, which could prove a crucial point for track day fans.

But now to the truly important part - driving. Stepping into the Civic Type R Mugen, it’s immediately clear that this is a car that means business. Despite the absence of a roll cage the empty space where the rear seats would be, the hip-crunching racing buckets and the extra stack of gauges to the right of the steering wheel telegraph a clear message: “drive me hard” this car is saying.

breathed-on VTEC produces 237bhp
breathed-on VTEC produces 237bhp
This car also has a data-logging device that monitors various pressures and temperatures within the car, into which you can pre-programme certain parameters. When your chosen indicator - oil temperature, say - reaches your pre-determined limit a buzzer will sound, telling you it’s time to cool the car down. If you do a lot of track days, that has got to be one hell of a useful tool.

Once we thumb the starter motor, however, and head out onto the test track, we’re in for a bit of a surprise - several, actually. The first shock is how sophisticated the whole thing feels. Looking at the Civic Type R Mugen you’d expect it to feel edgy, raw, nervy and unyielding, but in reality it feels quite the opposite. This might be a ‘hardcore’ hot hatch, but its sophisticated damping and more linear power delivery (Mugen has designed this engine to deliver seamless torque and power, so there’s less of a trademark VTEC ‘kick’) make it feel more refined than the standard car.

Starship dashboard gets a few extra dials
Starship dashboard gets a few extra dials
That’s not to say the Mugen Civic is dull, though. The K20A still wails like a touring car engine as you push it beyond 8000rpm, the (shorter-throw) gearchange is still one of the sweetest of any front-drive car I’ve driven and the new-found mid-range torque gives the motor the sort of punch that might - just might - see it keep up with turbocharged European hot-hatchery, as long as you work that engine hard enough.

Surprise number two arrives with the first few corners and the realisation that, on track at least, the torsion beam rear is no hindrance to the Mugen Type R’s handling. Mugen has kindly provided us with a Japanese-spec four-door Civic Type R equipped with a smattering of Mugen handling extras by way of comparison, and the difference between the two cars is startling.

Competition winner Nick gets comfy
Competition winner Nick gets comfy
Between you, me and this computer screen, I expected the UK-shape Civic, with its less sophisticated rear suspension and shorter wheelbase, to feel twitchy and snappish in its cornering behaviour, while the Japanese-spec car’s longer wheelbase and independently sprung rear end would make it the more predictable and approachable of the two.

Driving the four-door Civic round an off-camber right-hander with a bump in the middle and a heavy braking zone just the other side, I realise just how wrong I am. In the Type R Mugen prototype this is a simple corner, where you simply hold on to the steering wheel a bit tighter as your front right wheel skips over the bump, and you brake for the next bend while still turning. It is a bend you think nothing of.

'Yes Mr Rigby, the seatbelt is perfectly secure...'
'Yes Mr Rigby, the seatbelt is perfectly secure...'
In the Type R saloon, things are a little different. I approach the same bend in exactly the same way, but as the four-door crests the bump things begin to go wrong. First, the front suspension is flustered, throwing the steering off kilter. Then I start to brake for the next corner and the back end steps wide on the damp tarmac. There follows a rather ungainly series of fishtails before I manage to gather the car together - fortunately before the tyre wall does it for me. Torsion beam 1, independent rear suspension, nil.

The third surprise is the brakes. Actually, with that clever - and powerful - calliper set-up the stopping ability of the Civic Type R Mugen should come as no surprise, but the car’s ability to resist fade, even after half an hour of heavy use, is deeply impressive.

LSD helps wet-weather traction
LSD helps wet-weather traction
It’s clearly a car with promise, the Civic Type R Mugen. It’s quick, surprisingly sophisticated and something a bit different from your average super-hatch. It’s also coming to Britain for final development testing, so it just might cope with the scarred, rutted piece of tarmac that is the average British B-road.

Mugen is keen to point out that this car is still very much a concept - it doesn’t even have a proper name yet. But if it does get the go ahead for a limited production run, rumour has it that it could cost more than £30k. And that’s about £5k too much, I reckon. So come on, Mugen, give us a fourth surprise and make it cheap enough to compete head-on with the likes of the Ford Focus RS.

Author
Discussion

VladD

Original Poster:

7,853 posts

264 months

Monday 10th August 2009
quotequote all
I just can't get excited by a car that looks like that. The Focus RS is the same. Too plasticy and too MPV. Both are probably good drives, but they're missing the X factor.

sleeper88

828 posts

180 months

Monday 10th August 2009
quotequote all
I agree to me its as if companys have only just caught up with the max power days of big wheels and bodykits.

Krakatoa

384 posts

189 months

Monday 10th August 2009
quotequote all
This is the car the type-r should have been in the first place.

Only, it's FAR too expensive!



Edited by Krakatoa on Monday 10th August 14:19

nsa

1,682 posts

227 months

Monday 10th August 2009
quotequote all
Thanks again PH for a fantastic trip. The car was awesome, the pictures don't do it justice at all. Definitely the best FWD road car I've ever driven and one of the best sounding road cars ever. You have to hear it to believe it, it's way above anything else sub bank-breaking money. I'll try to blag a test drive when it gets over here because neither of us could bring ourselves to waste a lap driving it without kicking in the VTEC.

seechim

146 posts

211 months

Monday 10th August 2009
quotequote all
Nice idea. But when you have to tell people that you drive a Civic (albeit an ÜBER-fast track car), it's still a Civic. I had the same problem when I used to drive a Civic VTi-S.

edo

16,699 posts

264 months

Monday 10th August 2009
quotequote all
lol @ the dash dials - very max power.

davidcharles

400 posts

193 months

Monday 10th August 2009
quotequote all
...i think i would still prefer an older Type R with a Dastek chip and KN filter...would still get about 220bhp and i think its a better looking hatch.

OllieWinchester

5,645 posts

191 months

Monday 10th August 2009
quotequote all
VladD said:
I just can't get excited by a car that looks like that.
Me too. I loved my old shape CTR, this thing could well be even better but I could never be happy looking at that thing sat on my drive.

roland82

257 posts

214 months

Monday 10th August 2009
quotequote all
Knowing the type RR is out there means this car will only ever be second best.

DP 1

1,219 posts

192 months

Monday 10th August 2009
quotequote all
"LSD helps wet weather traction"


Pistonheads shouldn't be giving the chavs any ideas....lol

donkeypunt

227 posts

177 months

Monday 10th August 2009
quotequote all
I really like what they've done with the Civic. It looks puposeful and aggressive. As a massive CTR fanboy I still don't know what I'd think if I ever saw one on the road. Yeah it looks cool, its very limited and its Mugen. However, £30k for a Civic isn't very good value IMO. Much better cars can be had for that sort of money. A top speced out Civic is about £22k at the very most although dealers won't shift em for that now. So what does the extra £8k get you? I don't think it delivers much more really, couldn't say for certain unless I drive one and god I'd like to.

CoopR

957 posts

235 months

Monday 10th August 2009
quotequote all
I love Mugen because they do such a fantastic job at engineering (and I'm a blatent honda fanboy), some of their race-fit cars are stunning. I actually quite like the body kit, nice a jap and a bit over the top, exactly what it should be.

But the price and performance is just way out. With stripped out back seats, trackday data logging, uprated breaks is it really a trackday toy? Or @£30k is it really a hothatch to rival a focus rs?

I think unfortunatley it sits unhappily between both camps. I'd have one in my 10 car garage for sure though smile


Beefmeister

16,482 posts

229 months

Monday 10th August 2009
quotequote all
nsa said:
I'll try to blag a test drive when it gets over here because neither of us could bring ourselves to waste a lap driving it without kicking in the VTEC.


hehe

Far, far too expensive imo...

Edited by Beefmeister on Monday 10th August 16:05

Dagnut

3,515 posts

192 months

Monday 10th August 2009
quotequote all
Too little too late for Honda IMO.

Daz4m

2,904 posts

194 months

Monday 10th August 2009
quotequote all
Well done Mugen. Thumbs up from me.


collateral

7,238 posts

217 months

Monday 10th August 2009
quotequote all
Sound like a giggle! Never really understood the 'it must handle crap because its got a torsion beam' argument. IME cars with beams are much more chuckable than those with IRS

That rear wing is pretty atrocious

havoc

29,924 posts

234 months

Monday 10th August 2009
quotequote all
For those who've GOT to have the ultimate fwd Honda, fair enough...but I can't see this holding quite the same sort of residuals as the DC5 and FD2 are currently. I can see it dropping quite quickly to FD2 levels then keeping pace though...and it WOULD be an interesting alternative to an FD2.


Either way, I'll keep my DC2 and get an NSX with the change... biggrin

-JK-

8 posts

189 months

Monday 10th August 2009
quotequote all
I really think Honda has lost their way with regard to performance cars. The S2000 is going out of production to possibly be replaced by a FWD, folding hard-top, hybrid shopping trolley. The UK CTR is pants compared to its rivals. The FD2 is too big to be a hot hatch or coupe. The new NSX got canned. There's no mention of a CR-Z Type R. This thing would be waaaay too expensive, I'd rather have a 370Z. I'm sad to say that, apart from the S2K (which is now dead), there's nothing with a H badge that I'd be remotely interested in buying that's been built after 2005.

Come on Honda, I might have enough money for a new car when I'm ready to say goodbye to my DC2 and I don't want to lose the VTEC scream from my life!

Edited by -JK- on Monday 10th August 19:13


Edited by -JK- on Monday 10th August 19:14

Hellbound

2,500 posts

175 months

Monday 10th August 2009
quotequote all
Exactly, if you want a 2 seater Honda and have more than £30k, get a used NSX. Hell, make that a post-facelift NSX for £25k and spend the rest on Mugen parts. Now there's something worthy of kudos on a trackday.
If anything, a lightweight Mugen S2000 would have been sublime.

I guess there's the boring practicality side of the argument, either way...I hope they sell fast and journos love it. Wouldn't want this to be the only Mugen Honda ever sold here now would we?

Gsink

47 posts

188 months

Monday 10th August 2009
quotequote all
Even if they did drop the price how could it possibly compete with the focus rs, its well down on power??