New Honda Civic Type R Gets Chassis Enhancements and is Blue
The new Honda Civic Type R was unveiled earlier this month at the Tokyo Auto Salon, bringing with it a host of changes and improvements that not only make the car faster but also make it more enjoyable and convenient to drive even when you’re not beating Nürburgring records.
Oftentimes, the main limitation of taking a street car to the track is that after a lap or two of high-performance driving, the overheating brakes are giving up. To counter this, for the 2020 model year, the Civic Type R comes with new two-piece brake rotors and new brake pads that will reduce fade as well as improve high-speed braking.
The new Type R also comes with updated dampers to improve ride comfort, stiffer rear bushings to improve grip, and a modified front suspension to improve the steering feel. Little has changed in the engine bay, however, as there remains a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder generating 316 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque — but you do get a new feature that alters interior engine sound depending on the drive mode you’ve selected, and the front grille is larger to help the engine cool better.
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Besides that, there are a few new perks to look forward to inside the cabin, like a new Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel, and a new shifter with shorter shift throws and a restyled knob. Additionally, for the first time ever on the Civic Type R, the Honda Sensing suite of driver-assistive technologies, which includes automatic emergency braking, will be offered as standard equipment.
And then, of course, the piece de resistance: a brand-new, Type R-exclusive “Boost Blue” exterior paint color. It’s the one you can see in the images above, and in our opinion, it may just be the nicest Type R color yet. It complements the red badging and spoiler trim very well, as well as the slight styling tweaks the 2020 received.
Honda hasn’t specifically said when the new 2020 Civic Type R will be available, other than that more information about the U.S. spec will be provided later in the year.
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Kurt Verlin was born in France and lives in the United States. Throughout his life he was always told French was the language of romance, but it was English he fell in love with. He likes cats, music, cars, 30 Rock, Formula 1, and pretending to be a race car driver in simulators; but most of all, he just likes to write about it all. See more articles by Kurt.