Euro envy: Honda’s winged turbo street fighter Civic Type R concept won’t come Stateside

By Joe Mahan March 4, 2014

When I was growing up, as I was falling asleep, late-night exhaust notes would often hit my ears from the back roads behind my house. I imagined souped-up Honda Civics, Supras, and 240sxes burbling down the streets (yes, I have watched every single Fast and Furious).

The question is, what will Nissan, Toyota, and especially Honda, give boyracers to dream about? I think the Honda Type R will be the one for me.

Honda already released images of the showy racer and now we know why the Type R has all of those unique aesthetics.

The rear spoiler has been designed with a certain shape and angle to provide extra downforce, which of course was thoroughly tested on the Nurburgring Nordschleife. The upper and lower front grilles, combined with air outlets on the hood, provide cooling for a special engine. The Type R Concept has not been given any official performance specifications, but what we do know is that Europe will receive the most ambitious Type R ever produced.

Honda has confirmed, however, that in order to match the Type R’s aggressive and useful exterior styling it is going to give the Type R its new VTEC turbo engine. The engine is a – you guessed it – turbocharged 2.0-liter, direct injection, four-cylinder that is expected to produce 276 horsepower. That’s a lot of bang for your buck, especially in a hot-hatch. I can see tuning companies drooling already.

The Type R concept is getting a massive amount of racetrack technology as well, developed from Honda’s return to the World Touring Car Championship in 2013. Honda will also take the opportunity to showcase another dreamy vehicles powertrain at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show: the next-generation NSX.

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Joe Mahan is an intern at Digital Trends working in the Cars section. He is currently a Junior at the University of Portland…

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