Fresh off its show debut at Geneva last week, the new Honda Civic Type R is already prepared to hit the racetracks – the company has officially announced that the reborn hot hatch will join the grid of the 2015 British Touring Car Championship.
Currently undergoing testing in unbranded guise, the racer will be full unveiled at the BTCC media day at Donington on March 24. Honda Yuasa Racing also announced that it will be keeping its current drivers Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden, marking the sixth year the duo have been racing for the outfit.
Prepared by Team Dynamics, the Type R replaces the previous year’s Civic Tourer estate and promises increased downforce, reduced drag and more effective airflow management. Under the bonnet sits a 2.0 litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine that delivers 350 hp and 400 Nm, 40 hp more than the production Type R.
“This is a car that not just us, but the entire automotive industry has been waiting for,” said Matt Neal. “We are as excited as anybody to start running the Civic Type R, which is a massive step forward from last year’s Tourer – from the engine to the handling and aerodynamics.”
“We cannot wait for the new season to start,” added technical director Barry Plowman. “Our car for 2015 is going to win races. The shape of the new road going Civic Type R has allowed the team to build on the design and take it forward to be a championship winning car.”
GALLERY: Honda Civic Type R at Geneva 2015
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They’re not doing very well in WTCC, now want to enter this.
Honda are currently 2nd in the manufacturers points standing. they also finished 3rd in race 2 at argentina.. 2 cars are factory entered.. another 3 cars are entered by privateer customer teams. Only one round in a 12 round championship and you say they’re not doing well??
likewise.. the btcc entry is the honda UK dealer team. they have a very long and pretty decent history of participation in the BTCC. this is not something new or out of the blue. the only new thing is. .they are officially using the Civic Type R recently launched in geneva.
i think you should read up a bit more about racing and why manufacturers and their dealers and customers go racing.
Talking of aerodynamic, sorry our Prius and Prius C still beat it.
The faster Type R is, the more dangerous on Malaysia road, better stick with the fuel saving CBU Toyota hybrids.
your attempt at sarcasm???
The Prius’ aurodynamics is optimized for fuel economy whereas that of the Type R mentioned here is all about racing where traction is paramount. Reducing the drag coefficient is not the only thing they consider in racing aerodynamics.
dont cakap kosong.. ahahaha
Yes, even though without factory team like BMW, SEAT & Chevrolet in the WTCC.. SEAT leave due engine ban after BMW make noise about it, BMW leave after fail to ban RWD car & joint DTM, Chevy lost interest in WTCC cause they the only Factory Team in the race…
side exhausts…drool…
The Welch Motorsport,already 3 years using Proton Gen-2 as their official BTCC race car.And the 2015 season also,they use Gen-2.Proud to be Malaysian!!.http://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2014/12/andy-wilmot-race-welch-btcc-proton-2015/
don’t be so proud lah.. since they are not even using a stock engine for that gen-2.. basically just used as a shell..
race car with 40hp up?
it’s similar to stage 1 or stage 2 tuning..
Nice car, but the ass seems a bit out of place