Good-bye, Civic Type R
They say all good things must come to an end, and certainly Honda is bringing something really good to a very unwelcome end. The 4-door Civic Type R will be withdrawn from service come August 2010 – a sad day for motoring enthusiasts.
We at Malaysia were at least fortunate to have the pleasure of being the only market outside Japan to receive the FD2 Type R as an official import from Honda Motor Co, though we wouldn’t bet against the grey importers bringing a few units in anyway.
Mr. Toru Takahashi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Honda Malaysia said, “We are proud that the Civic Type R has fulfilled its mission of providing the joy of driving and joy of ownership to its many customers in Malaysia. However, having evaluated the model based on environmental performance, which is the new method of calculating emissions in JC08 mode, as well as current market demands, we believe that the time has come for us to discontinue production of the 4-Door Civic Type R.”
The FD2 Type R went on sale in Malaysia in August 2007, just months after it was released in the Japanese market. Other markets, most notably Europe, have the sleeker-looking Euro-spec FN2 Civic Type R. Nevertheless, it is the 4-door variant that is the more hardcore and more focused of the two.
Powering the FD2 is Honda’s high-revving 1,998cc K20A tuned to produce 221hp @ 8,400rpm and 215Nm @ 6,100rpm. It redlines at a stratospheric 8,600rpm, and is coupled to a sweet-shifting 6-speed manual transmission. In comparison, the Euro-spec FN2 makes do with 198hp @ 7,800rpm and 193Nm @ 5,600 rpm.
Another crucial difference between the JDM-spec FD2 and the Euro-spec FN2 is the rear suspension architecture. While the sleeker-looking FN2 comes with a simple torsion beam setup, the FD2 gets a more sophisticated independent double-wishbone rear suspension.
Since its introduction, close to 12,000 units have been sold in both Japan and Malaysia, with our market accounting for 234 units as of March 2010. At this moment, customers in Malaysia can still place orders for the Civic Type R at any authorized Honda dealer. The 4-Door Civic Type R is priced at RM199,800 on-the-road with insurance.
