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Honda Civic Type-R Now in Australia |
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Written by Evander
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By Evander
Having a remarkable reputation on its home market, the Honda Civic Type-R is now being exported to Australia.
The first shipment of Swindon- built Civic Type Rs arrived in Melbourne
earlier this month. And now ready to be delivered to dealers, the Civic
Type-R will be in the hands of the Australians at the price of a
remarkably sharp $A39, 990 for the privilege starting Monday.
Equipped with a rigid Honda throttle body,
the Civic comes with a high-revving, naturally aspirated, 2-litre
i-VTEC engine that is capable of pumping out 148kW and 193Nm. As a
result, it will sprint to 100kmh in just 6.6 seconds, but despite being
so wildly quick, it manages 9.3 liters per 100km.
Australians are lucky because they live in the only country outside
Europe to get the acclaimed ‘hot hatch’, which sales is expected to
reach 1200 units there per year.
Based in Swindon, Honda of the UK Manufacturing (HUM), is the only
Honda production facility to build the Civic Type R. Twelve thousand
five hundred (12,500) will be built in the area between now and April
2008.
When asked about the possibility of a Type R Civic for the New Zealand
market, Honda New Zealand has always said that it has no plans of
bringing the car in.
The Civic Type R rides on 18-inch alloy wheels along with 225/40 R18
tires, and stops with 300mm front and 260mm rear brake discs. It has a
six-speed manual gearbox, with no automatic, and firm MacPherson
strut-style front suspension and torsion beam rear suspension, but the
latter of which is actually not as advanced as the fully-independent
rear suspension found on New Zealand Civic sedans.
As to the interior, the Civic has a dash design similar to Civic found
in New Zealand. When cornering, its body-hugging alcantara racing-style
bucket seats keep the driver firmly planted.
Regarding safety features, the Civic Type R has front, side and curtain
airbags, vehicle stability assist (VSA), ABS brakes with electronic
brake force distribution and an advanced compatibility engineering
(ACE) body structure. For additional security of the car, an anti-theft
immobilizer is equipped.
Other features include automatic rain- sensing windscreen wipers, auto
on/ off headlights, an MP3 and WMA- compatible CD player, multi-
function trip computer, cruise control, front fog lights, dual-zone
climate control, and a leather-bound tilt and telescopic-adjustable
steering wheel.
Honda expects to sell 100 Civic Type Rs per month in Australia. The
Swindon Type R is not being sold in Japan either. The only Type R Civic
that the public would be able to source as a Japanese used import will
be the sedan version.
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