Shed of the Week: Honda Accord Type R

2018 marks 20 years since the hot Accord's introduction, so how better to celebrate than with this marvellous Shed?

No, it's not April 1st, and no, your eyes are not deceiving you. That is indeed an Accord Type R you're looking at. An Accord Type R with an MOT, no mechanical or rust issues that we're aware of, and a Shed-qualifying price of £1,450.

And they said Man would never fly.

Actually, what they did say in the forum for last week's SOTW column was that you would never find a Type R Accord in the cheap seats, not any more. And yet, as if by magic, just one week later here it is. Nobody's saying this one is perfect - the bodywork isn't dent-free, and the mileage isn't low - but can you see any major problems?

Younger readers may think we're getting carried away here. After all, how good can an Accord be? Why did Honda even decide to wave the Type R wand over such a boring car, you might be saying? Well, there was some BTCC heritage there, back in 1998 when Alain Menu was in the Renault Laguna, Warwick and Cleland were in the Vectra and Nigel Mansell was sort of in the Mondeo.

Prodrive ran the 'works' Honda Accord effort with James Thompson, who scored a few wins in it in the '98, '99 and 2000 seasons, and his sometime teammate Peter Kox went on to do pretty well with it in the 2000 European Super Touring championships. But the road car that came out of it was arguably the high point of the whole 'hot Accord' story. Honda managed to turn an excellent but essentially worthy family car into a fizzing, sparkling and generally brilliant fast saloon that was also still an excellent family car, on demand and as required.

The H22A7 redtop 2.2-litre VTEC motor is, predictably, an absolute belter. There's not much torque - just 164lb ft at 6,700rpm - but getting to the 217hp at 7,200rpm via the 'kick in' at just over 5,000rpm is a joyous exercise that never gets old, even if the gearing is just a fraction too long for optimal powerband hopping.

A great engine wasn't all you got. The chassis was stiffer, the suspension lower, the wheels bigger. There was a snickety gearbox topped by a metal knob, quite the thing at the time, a proper limited-slip diff, proper hydraulic power steering, Xenon lights, superb Alcantara Recaro seats and a leather Momo wheel. The boot spoiler was an option box that most buyers ticked.

Our Shed seems to have lost its original gearknob, which might be tricky to replace if you're looking to restore this car to originality, but the rest of it looks pukka and the MOT history gives no cause for concern. We won't bother to go through what might go wrong as there is a much more detailed look at that already in place on PH in the form of Al Suttie's excellent and comprehensive Buying Guide. In short though it's a strong machine with relatively cheap suspension consumables and 30mpg in most kinds of use. The cambelt runs on a 72k/eight-year change schedule, and it's really worth using (and regularly refreshing) decent oil. Fifth gear synchro has been known to wear prematurely. Otherwise it's all good.

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Here's my 2001Honda accord type R, have had this car a year and the plan was to keep it as I've always wanted to scratch the vtec honda itch but a company car has forced me to sell to free up space on the driveway.

MOT till September 2018

Full mongoose exhaust system with catalytic converter still, not too loud but makes a great sound.

K&N typhoon induction system with filter placed low in engine bay makes a great sound!

Interior is extremely clean considering mileage with only the drivers seat bolster wearing slightly

Exterior as a whole is clean but a dent in boot near the lock and few scratches, nothing horrendous.

Part service history with last service been completed in October 2017.

Rust has been repaired on bulkhead, common place for accords.

Have priced which i think is sensible, the mileage is high but has been cared for with no smoke on vtec and no rattles and knocks in engine. Really is a good car and in truth im sad to see it go!

These cars are getting rare and finding a nice clean one is getting harder to find now.