Honda Civic Type R Championship White Review
Honda Civic Type R Championship White Review
The Championship White paintwork is simply icing on the cake and seeing it in the car park, it does indeed look like some sort of confection. As the name suggests, the emphasis is on white, including the 18-inch Championship White alloys, through which can be seen the Type R brake callipers and come complete with a red Honda logo on the hubs.
Apart from that, the Honda Civic Type R Championship White is distinguishable by body-coloured bumpers, door mirrors, rear spoiler and what is described as lower side, sill garnish. The rear skirt incorporates the two triangular tailpipes and the low, front skirt somehow manages to miss scraping speed bumps. Contrasting smoked chrome finish can be seen on the door handles, fuel cap, badges and an exclusive Type R plaque.
But what does the Championship White represent? Way back in 1992 a certain Ayrton Senna had a hand in developing a race performance version of the NSX, Honda's answer to the Ferrari. The result was the Honda NSX-R and the first Type R was born. It was finished in Championship White paint and the Red 'H' emblem in honour of the first Honda F1 car to win a Grand Prix in 1963, the RA272.
Weight-saving measures, at the time, included removing the air conditioning, audio system and electric windows. Thankfully, this is not the case now and the latest Honda Civic Type R Championship White has all the mod-cons and practicality of the standard three-door Civic, plus a bit more.
Although the newest version of the Honda Civic Type R, or CTR as it is known in certain circles, went on sale in 2007, the Championship White GT has only just been made available to order (January 2009) and is priced at £20,140 OTR or £21,540 with satellite navigation.
The 'normal' Honda Civic Type R, if you can call it that, is well specified with switchable, Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA), powered and heated door mirrors, drilled aluminium sports pedals and foot rest, an alloy gear-knob that is very cold to the touch, rake and reach adjustable steering column and driver's seat height adjustment. The GT version adds cruise control, folding mirrors, automatic headlights and wipers, front fogs and dual curtain airbags front and rear, to go with the front and side airbags.
There is no way that you will forget that you are in a Honda Type R, as there are reminders in the embroidered Alcantara-covered, Recaro seats, on the door sills and metal badges on the front floor mats. So, it isn't lacking and that was the general idea behind the new Type R; not so extreme as to be impractical for everyday use but still a shed-load of fun.
What the Honda Civic Type R Championship White has over the standard Type R is a limited slip differential, which helps lay down the power. All CTRs have the same 2.0i VTEC petrol engine, with variable valve timing that allows for power and efficiency. It produces 201PS at 7,800 rpm and 193Nm of pulling power at 5,600rpm allowing a top speed of 146mph, following a 0-62mph sprint time of 6.6 seconds.
As well as sharing the same engine as the Type R, the Honda Civic Type R GT Championship White also shares a nicely weighted, 6-speed manual gearbox - a combination that makes for fuel consumption figures of 22.2mpg (urban), 40.4mpg (extra urban) and 31 mpg for the combined. The emissions are reasonable for this type of car at 215g/km putting it in VED Band F and the insurance group is 17.
But the idea is to forget the numbers and enjoy the exhilarating power as you take to the lanes and minor roads. For sure, the Honda Civic Type R is capable on the motorway, with plenty of oomph in all gears, including 6th, for quick, safe overtakes, but the best enjoyment is to be had away from the straight and narrow. There can be a bit of torque steer but it is easily controllable and excellent fun as the car remains flat on fast bends and makes a wonderful noise with every blip of the throttle.
The Honda Civic Type R Championship White's handling is in part due to the suspension, which is firm to the point of being brutal at times, but this can be overlooked and accepted as part of the deal. I don't often mention the brakes but during my test week I had occasion to use them in earnest. The ABS with EBA and EBD did an excellent job of bringing the car to a quick stop, in a straight line.
Inside, the Honda Civic Type R offers all the practicality of folding seats to increase the boot space from 485- to 1352-litres, and covers all the needs for family motoring but still manages to look fresh in terms of styling. Indeed, the floating information display and backlit dials, in red of course, still look the part after a good few years and the only disappointment for me was some of the materials. The brushed-aluminium effect panels on the door handles and centre console are made from a hard plastic and look a little tacky as does the plastic fuel filler cap and although the test car had only done around 3,500 miles, albeit by journalists, the armrest was beginning to come loose. Could I live with it? No problem.
The Honda Civic Type R GT Championship White, Type R, or any CTR for that matter, delivers so much fun with surprising agility that you could forgive it for anything. The bad boy is still bad.
For enthusiastic drivers, the Honda Civic Type R never fails to delight and testing the Championship White version was merely an excuse to do it all again. It is also another opportunity to tell anyone who will listen, just what they are missing.
The Championship White paintwork is simply icing on the cake and seeing it in the car park, it does indeed look like some sort of confection. As the name suggests, the emphasis is on white, including the 18-inch Championship White alloys, through which can be seen the Type R brake callipers and come complete with a red Honda logo on the hubs.
Apart from that, the Honda Civic Type R Championship White is distinguishable by body-coloured bumpers, door mirrors, rear spoiler and what is described as lower side, sill garnish. The rear skirt incorporates the two triangular tailpipes and the low, front skirt somehow manages to miss scraping speed bumps. Contrasting smoked chrome finish can be seen on the door handles, fuel cap, badges and an exclusive Type R plaque.
But what does the Championship White represent? Way back in 1992 a certain Ayrton Senna had a hand in developing a race performance version of the NSX, Honda's answer to the Ferrari. The result was the Honda NSX-R and the first Type R was born. It was finished in Championship White paint and the Red 'H' emblem in honour of the first Honda F1 car to win a Grand Prix in 1963, the RA272.
Weight-saving measures, at the time, included removing the air conditioning, audio system and electric windows. Thankfully, this is not the case now and the latest Honda Civic Type R Championship White has all the mod-cons and practicality of the standard three-door Civic, plus a bit more.
Although the newest version of the Honda Civic Type R, or CTR as it is known in certain circles, went on sale in 2007, the Championship White GT has only just been made available to order (January 2009) and is priced at £20,140 OTR or £21,540 with satellite navigation.
The 'normal' Honda Civic Type R, if you can call it that, is well specified with switchable, Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA), powered and heated door mirrors, drilled aluminium sports pedals and foot rest, an alloy gear-knob that is very cold to the touch, rake and reach adjustable steering column and driver's seat height adjustment. The GT version adds cruise control, folding mirrors, automatic headlights and wipers, front fogs and dual curtain airbags front and rear, to go with the front and side airbags.
There is no way that you will forget that you are in a Honda Type R, as there are reminders in the embroidered Alcantara-covered, Recaro seats, on the door sills and metal badges on the front floor mats. So, it isn't lacking and that was the general idea behind the new Type R; not so extreme as to be impractical for everyday use but still a shed-load of fun.
What the Honda Civic Type R Championship White has over the standard Type R is a limited slip differential, which helps lay down the power. All CTRs have the same 2.0i VTEC petrol engine, with variable valve timing that allows for power and efficiency. It produces 201PS at 7,800 rpm and 193Nm of pulling power at 5,600rpm allowing a top speed of 146mph, following a 0-62mph sprint time of 6.6 seconds.
As well as sharing the same engine as the Type R, the Honda Civic Type R GT Championship White also shares a nicely weighted, 6-speed manual gearbox - a combination that makes for fuel consumption figures of 22.2mpg (urban), 40.4mpg (extra urban) and 31 mpg for the combined. The emissions are reasonable for this type of car at 215g/km putting it in VED Band F and the insurance group is 17.
But the idea is to forget the numbers and enjoy the exhilarating power as you take to the lanes and minor roads. For sure, the Honda Civic Type R is capable on the motorway, with plenty of oomph in all gears, including 6th, for quick, safe overtakes, but the best enjoyment is to be had away from the straight and narrow. There can be a bit of torque steer but it is easily controllable and excellent fun as the car remains flat on fast bends and makes a wonderful noise with every blip of the throttle.
The Honda Civic Type R Championship White's handling is in part due to the suspension, which is firm to the point of being brutal at times, but this can be overlooked and accepted as part of the deal. I don't often mention the brakes but during my test week I had occasion to use them in earnest. The ABS with EBA and EBD did an excellent job of bringing the car to a quick stop, in a straight line.
Inside, the Honda Civic Type R offers all the practicality of folding seats to increase the boot space from 485- to 1352-litres, and covers all the needs for family motoring but still manages to look fresh in terms of styling. Indeed, the floating information display and backlit dials, in red of course, still look the part after a good few years and the only disappointment for me was some of the materials. The brushed-aluminium effect panels on the door handles and centre console are made from a hard plastic and look a little tacky as does the plastic fuel filler cap and although the test car had only done around 3,500 miles, albeit by journalists, the armrest was beginning to come loose. Could I live with it? No problem.
The Honda Civic Type R GT Championship White, Type R, or any CTR for that matter, delivers so much fun with surprising agility that you could forgive it for anything. The bad boy is still bad.
Car 1 - 02 Lexus IS200 SE Strathcaron Blue, Sport Grille, TTE Lowering Springs (to be fitted), K&N Panel Filter, 6500K XENON Headlight Main & Dipped Bulbs, Xenon Sidelights, 17" Gunmetal Powder Coated Alloys, Front Grooved Discs and Mintex Pads
Car 2 - 73 Hillman Imp AKA Hilda, Aquarious Blue, work in progress!
Very good write up! I have the new shape CTR however I found the ride awful and bascially it crippled me! It is now for sale. I have been in the EP3 and must say it seemed to be better car over the FN2.
Car 1 - 02 Lexus IS200 SE Strathcaron Blue, Sport Grille, TTE Lowering Springs (to be fitted), K&N Panel Filter, 6500K XENON Headlight Main & Dipped Bulbs, Xenon Sidelights, 17" Gunmetal Powder Coated Alloys, Front Grooved Discs and Mintex Pads
Car 2 - 73 Hillman Imp AKA Hilda, Aquarious Blue, work in progress!
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