‘It all starts here’. That was the message shown on the vast screens during the countdown to the Honda press conference at the Geneva Motorshow. At 11am on press day the show seemed to stop and hold its breath, the assembled journalists as one waiting to see a raft of new products unveiled and the start of an exciting new chapter. With silk sheets over the cars, the crowd 10-deep, and TV crews, photographers and camera phones all jostling for the best position the stage was well and truly set…
Twenty minutes later the speeches by Tetsuo Iwamura, Executive Vice President of Honda, and Phillip Ross, Senior Vice President, are over and in what seems like the blink of an eye the covers are pulled from the compact but incredibly versatile HR-V, the revolutionary FCV fuel cell vehicle, the new Jazz, McLaren-Honda’s new F1 car, the NSX supercar and, of course, the new Civic Type R.
As the covers come off a new era dawns for Honda
It’s the Type R that many have been waiting to see – the iconic badge has been absent for too long – and on the build-up to Geneva there’s been a huge buzz about its return. The smiles and the fevered attempts to get the best shot as the silk sheet crumples on the floor behind the new extreme Civic suggest the new car is going to be a hit.
Phillip Ross describes it as a ‘racing car for the road’ and as the Type R’s vital statistics are revealed there’s no doubt it sets a new benchmark. The new 2-litre VTEC TURBO engine produces 310PS, more than any other front-drive hot hatch, it has a top speed of 167mph, which is simply unprecedented in this sector.
Flash bulbs pop as the Type R is revealed
And yet for purists the car keeps a traditional six-speed manual gearbox for maximum driver involvement and the price starts from £29,995. It’s hard to get the full picture of the Type R’s impact in the general melee surrounding the Honda stand, but one word keeps emerging from the general din: wow.
So the Type R has stolen the show within seconds of its reveal but with Jazz, HR-V and FCV alongside the breadth of product is extraordinary. The passion for innovation, technology and excitement is almost tangible and has left an indelible mark on Geneva 2015. There’s more to come, too. Just as the press conference draws to a close and people scramble to upload their stories surrounding these new cars a final killer nugget of information is revealed…
Honda has spoken before about the Type R’s spiritual home being the infamous Nürburgring circuit that swoops across the Eifel region in Germany and is a relentless test of any performance car. The aim with the Type R was to become the fastest front-wheel drive road car ever to lap its fearsome 12.7-miles of curves, yumps and compressions that make it a unique challenge.
The new Type R proves it has wow-factor – literally
A video flashes up on the huge screens and we’re inside the Civic Type R at the ‘Ring with a timer ticking away and the trees that line the circuit turning into a green fluid blur… Now we get to find out if the Type R has hit its target. As it crosses the finish line the timer freezes and reads seven minutes 50.63 seconds.
No front drive road car has ever come close to a time like this before and there are audible gasps of astonishment. Twitter lights up with the news, people crawl all over the car and it’s safe to say that the Geneva show really is a new start. It’s going to be a spectacular ride.
