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US Honda Civic Type R at Least Two Years Away

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2016 Honda Civic concept

The 2016 Honda Civic concept that debuted in New York last week

Last week, we (joyously) reported the news that America was finally getting a freaking Honda Civic Type R. Well, that news is still true, but it now comes with a slight addendum: America is finally getting a freaking Honda Civic Type R…in a few years.

During a roundtable discussion with AutoGuide, American Honda Motor Co. Executive VP John Mendel admitted that the US Honda Civic Type R won’t be a 2016 model—in fact, it might not even be a 2017 model.

“It could be an ’18 by the time it gets here,” said Mendel, although he added that he hopes it arrives sooner than that.

The 2016 Honda Civic concept is damn good looking

Mendel also said that the US Honda Civic Type R won’t differ much from the European model.

“You’re looking at the same concept that the Civic Type R has always been,” he said. “As you go to global development processes, the differences from market to market in terms of crash and requirements start to converge. So you don’t have a vehicle developed for one market that doesn’t meet the standards of another market. As you are able to commonize all those things around the world, and a US-led development for this vehicle (the 2016 Honda Civic), we kind of spec’d through the higher standards.”

But while the Type R may be a few years down the road, Honda performance enthusiasts can at least take some comfort in the fact that a turbocharged Civic will be arriving later this year. The tenth-gen Civic sedan will feature a 1.5-liter turbo VTEC engine (“In the higher trims, at least initially,” Mendel says) when it debuts this fall.

2016 Honda Civic Concept

Although he didn’t divulge too many other details, Mendel did hype the new tenth-gen Civic model’s sportier look and feel, promising “you’re going to be blown away” by the interior.

“I just read the articles in magazines you guys write that say we’ve lost our way; we’ve lost our sportiness,” he said. “I don’t think we were as sporty in this last generation as we once were.”

In response to demand, Mendel says Honda is, “taking the Civic back in a direction more towards where it started.”

“It’s what you guys have been asking for,” he said.

He’s right—automotive journalists and enthusiasts alike have been clamoring for a return to Honda’s performance roots. It’s nice to see that the automaker is finally noticing, and apparently adopting the mantra, “Give the people what they want… in two or three years time.”

 News Source: AutoGuide