It’s the supreme accolade that any brand could win – the prestigious World Performance Car of the Year. Judged by a panel of 73 leading motoring writers from across the globe, just to be in the final five is an achievement.
But following the astonishing reception given to the new Civic Type R, Honda is confident of success. Already it has won the Scottish Car of the Year and secured its first motorsport prizes with the drivers and constructors titles in the 2015 British Touring Car Championship.
Now it has become the first Honda ever to make it into the final of the World Performance Car of the Year competition. It is a huge boost for the workforce at Honda’s Swindon plant where the Civic Type R is manufactured. It is shipped from here across Europe and, in a coals to Newcastle turnaround, it has recently been announced that it will be exported from the UK to Japan for the first time.
The World Performance Car of the Year will be judged in New York in March and, by making the final, Honda has taken on the leading specialist manufacturers and beaten them at their own game with the affordable and accessible Type R.
‘We always knew that the Civic Type R was set to be a game-changer for Honda, and this latest accolade once again confirms it,’ says Philip Crossman, MD of Honda (UK). ‘This news is also another big vote of confidence for our Swindon plant where the brilliant workforce can take a huge amount of credit for expertly crafting the most extreme Type R ever to wear the ‘Red H’.’
