There are only a few tested cars that we’ve ever marked as major events in the history of this feeble website. There was the Nissan GT-R. There was the Bentley Continental GT. And this weekend, there was the Honda Civic Type-R, a car as overrated as this website, and yet so legendary. We indulge in making fun of Honda fanboys all the time, but this is one car that almost turned us into Honda fanboys.
The long-awaited 2010 Honda Civic Type-R has finally reached the shores of the UAE. Available in Dubai and Abu Dhabi showrooms, the Type-R debuts alongside the European Honda Civic 5-door hatchback, both for the first time in the GCC.
The UK-built 2010 Honda Civic Type R MUGEN 200 limited edition model has been launched. As the name suggests, only 200 will be built and sold in the UK. Bagging the same 201 hp 2.0-litre i-VTEC engine, this model is just mostly cosmetic changes on the standard Type R model.
Honda has added another 437,000 vehicles to an existing global recall for faulty air bags that dates back to November 2008, now totalling 510,000 cars.
Honda is skipping the 2009 Dubai Motor Show, but that did not stop their UAE office from previewing new models for next year, at a press event in Dubai yesterday. The 2010 Honda Civic 5-door hatchback, Honda Civic Type-R hatchback and the Honda Accord Crosstour were displayed. Also launched were a range of original Mugen accessories.
Honda will not be taking part in the 2009 Dubai Motor Show. However, they have chosen instead to showcase their upcoming GCC-spec models for next year at a press event next week. The new models consist of the marque’s funkiest models, in what looks like an attempt to inject some excitement into an otherwise boring UAE line-up of family cars.
Mugen, Honda’s official aftermarket arm, already has their own hyper-tuned version of the Japanese-market Honda Civic Type-R sedan. Interestingly, Europe has its own version of the Civic Type-R, based on the all-show-no-go 3-door Euro-Civic hatchback with non-independent rear suspension. The European Civic Type-R is imported to Japan in limited numbers, and this was enough reason for Mugen to offer a body kit for it.
Barely a day after Honda announced the Civic Type-R sedan for the Japanese market, their tuning arm, Mugen, has announced their own variation to the Type-R.