RE: Honda Civic Type R in the BTCC
Wednesday 18th March 2015
It's been at least a week since the last Civic Type R news, right? Honda has confirmed its new BTCC car will be derived from the new Type R, rather than the estate as used last year. Appropriately enough, that means the Civic Tourer BTCC car also ran for only one season, just like the old 850 Estate did 20 years earlier.
Looks quite smart without the livery...The new racer has been in development since September, with the hatch apparently providing increased downforce, less drag and "more effective air flow management." Who'd have thought?!
Honda Civic Type R in the BTCC
Out with the Tourer and in with the new Type R for Honda's 2015 shot at BTCC glory
Looks quite smart without the livery...
Honda Yuasa Racing says the BTCC car will produce 355hp and 295lb ft. An unchanged driver line-up of Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal will race the Civic, with three-time champ Neal keen to get started: "We are as excited as anybody to start running the Civic Type R, which is a massive step forward from last year's Tourer - from the engine to the handling and aerodynamics."
This year's BTCC begins, as ever, on Easter weekend (April 4 and 5). We will be again be sending PHers along as roving reporters - keep your eyes peeled for more details soon!
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Track photos: Gary Hawkins
Discussion
It's interesting to see that the front bumper and front wheel arches closely resemble the road car, implying that the Honda engineers got the aero sorted properly for the road car but I guess the BTCC guys couldn't stand the road cars rear arches either and had to make them suit the front ones, lol.
RS404 said:
Basing your touring car on the sporty version of your road car. Wow somebody in Honda's marketing department has let their hair down! Mind you a few years back there was a Honda touring car based on a road car they didn't even sell in the UK!
There were a very small number of UK dealer sourced and warranted cars, I know Honda in Crewe sold a few. But they were 26k at a time when the EP3 Civic was 17k....Mini 360 said:
And are now at 6.5-9k when EP3s are 2-5k....
Having owned both, spending a coupe of k more for a second hand DC5 over an EP3 is worth it, you'd only do the mods to an EP3 and spend that anyway, however there isn't a 10k difference in a between the 2 cars in any scenario. The Honda dealers were trying to cash in and pretty much failed, especially once Ian Litchfield starting bringing new cars over for 22-23k.RS404 said:
Basing your touring car on the sporty version of your road car. Wow somebody in Honda's marketing department has let their hair down! Mind you a few years back there was a Honda touring car based on a road car they didn't even sell in the UK!
Cheeky or cunning depending on one's POV. For a British championship the car didn't even have to be officially sold in the UK. The main advantage was that the Integra had better aero than the Civic.MustardCutter said:
It's interesting to see that the front bumper and front wheel arches closely resemble the road car, implying that the Honda engineers got the aero sorted properly for the road car but I guess the BTCC guys couldn't stand the road cars rear arches either and had to make them suit the front ones, lol.
Would it really have cost Honda so much to make those rear arches look a little more symmetrical with the front ones on the road car? The ones on the BTCC are obviously just bolted on but they still look 10 times better as they balance out the size and aggressiveness of the front arches. I'm not sure who signed off on those rear arches on the road car but I am willing to bet that someone in the accounts department had the final say.Guvernator said:
Would it really have cost Honda so much to make those rear arches look a little more symmetrical with the front ones on the road car? The ones on the BTCC are obviously just bolted on but they still look 10 times better as they balance out the size and aggressiveness of the front arches. I'm not sure who signed off on those rear arches on the road car but I am willing to bet that someone in the accounts department had the final say.
Yeah the disparity between the two is a mess; the concept got it right but would require new panels. I actually think it would look better if they'd toned down the front arches to suit the rear that they were stuck with due to the rear doors / accountants, rather than beef up the front and leave the rear undersized.Even if this is the greatest car to drive with five doors ever, you'd see those arches every time you approach it and just think eugh...
MustardCutter said:
Yeah the disparity between the two is a mess; the concept got it right but would require new panels. I actually think it would look better if they'd toned down the front arches to suit the rear that they were stuck with due to the rear doors / accountants, rather than beef up the front and leave the rear undersized.
Even if this is the greatest car to drive with five doors ever, you'd see those arches every time you approach it and just think eugh...
I love blown out arches IF they are done properly. For perfect examples of this look at classics like the Lancia Delta Integrale, E30 M3 or Subaru 22b, however either do them properly or don't do them at all. The ones on the Type R just look half-arsed and stink of penny pinching. Surely with a company of Honda's size, they could afford to push the boat out a bit for one of their halo models and actually make proper panels? How much extra would it have really cost a company of this size? As I said before, the accountants have FAR to much say in car design these days.Even if this is the greatest car to drive with five doors ever, you'd see those arches every time you approach it and just think eugh...
RS404 said:
Basing your touring car on the sporty version of your road car. Wow somebody in Honda's marketing department has let their hair down! Mind you a few years back there was a Honda touring car based on a road car they didn't even sell in the UK!
If I remember correctly Team Dynamics weren't an official Honda entry back when they ran DC5's.Gassing Station | General Motorsport | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff