The Type R badge is one of the most enduring and recognisable in the realm of all-time great hot hatches. Alongside monikers such as GTI and RS, it signifies a car that not only offers everyday practicality and affordability, but also a genuine dose of high-performance expertise and technology: everything that a good hot hatch should offer, then.
But while we all know the Type R badge from the long line of Civic Type R hot hatches offered by the company, did you know that the Type R treatment has been applied to plenty of other Honda models over the years? Here, we take a look at some of the lesser-known Type R models offered by the company, and pick our highlights from Type R history.
Best Honda Type R Cars Ever:
- 1992 Honda NSX Type R
- 1997 Honda Integra Type R
- 1998 Honda Accord Type R
- 2002 Honda Civic Type R EP3
- 2023 Honda Civic Type R FL5
1992 NSX Type R
We simply have to begin with the original. It’s fair to say that Honda’s mid-engined supercar, built to harass and surpass the Ferrari 328 of the day, was already a fairly special vehicle in its own right. However, in designing the NSX, Honda’s engineers had been forced to make some compromises in overall dynamic ability in the pursuit of everyday driveability (and rightly so, many would argue).
Then, in 1992, Honda decided to offer a version that rectified some of these compromises, for customers who were looking to maximise the racetrack performance of their car. And thus, the NSX Type R - and as a result, the Type R badge - was born.
The Type R had the same mid-mounted 3.0-litre V6 as the regular NSX, producing around 250bhp, but a variety of other changes were made in an effort to boost dynamic ability. The most significant was an extensive weight-reduction programme, in which many creature comforts were ditched. Out went the air-con, stereo, much of the sound-deadening, the spare wheel and the electric leather seats (replaced by lightweight carbon-kevlar ones from Recaro), allowing Honda to shed around 120kg, bringing the Type R’s weight down to around 1,230kg.
The result was a car that was outstandingly agile at most speeds, and could dispatch the 0-60mph dash in 4.9 seconds, on its way to a top speed of 168mph. Less than 500 examples were ever built, all of them offered to the Japanese market only.
1997 Honda Integra Type R
The Integra Type R was different to its NSX equivalent in that it was offered for sale in the UK. It had undergone a similar (if not as drastic) weight loss programme compared with regular Integra (sound deadening removed, thinner windscreen, lighter wheels), plus the chassis was given some extra stiffness.
The real jewel in the Integra Type R’s crown, however, was its engine. This hand-built 1.8-litre unit had high compression pistons and revised intake and exhaust systems, but central to its appeal was the performance-fettled VTEC (Variable Valve Timing and lift Electronic Control) system. Outputs differed in various international markets, but in the UK, buyers were rewarded with 187bhp and 131lb ft of torque. That made it capable of 0-60mph in 6.5 seconds and a top speed of 145mph.
However impressive the power, it’s the way the power is delivered that’s even more intoxicating. The VTEC means that the higher you rev the engine, the more you’re rewarded with stronger and stronger acceleration, and the rev needle doesn’t hit the redline until the engine is spinning at 8,700rpm. If you ever get to drive one, and you have an ounce of mechanical sympathy, you’ll feel horrendously guilty for putting that many revs through an engine built way back in 1997. The thing is, you won’t be able to help yourself, so addictive is the sensation.
You’ll also find that the Integra is one of the finest handling front-wheel-drive cars ever built. Weighing just over 1,100kg, there wasn’t an ounce of unnecessary fat on the car, and you can really feel this flyweight stature as you fling it around, while all the controls deliver stunning precision and massive engagement.
1998 Honda Accord Type R
Not long after the Integra Type R landed in the UK, Honda released the sixth-generation Accord saloon, and by this time, Honda had developed quite a taste for producing pokier, performance-focused versions of its more humdrum offerings. Hence it didn’t take long for the regular Accord to be followed by the Accord Type R.
Like other Type Rs, a crash diet was instigated, resulting in the loss of some soundproofing and interior trims, while the chassis was strengthened and the suspension lowered and stiffened. The upgraded brakes, meanwhile, were derived from those found in the NSX.
Unfortunately, the Accord Type R didn’t also get the engine from the NSX, but there’s still a lot to love about the engine it did get, a 2.2-litre unit derived from the one in the Prelude coupe. Like in previous Type Rs, the engine was hand-finished, and power was hiked from around 180bhp in the Prelude to 209bhp in the Accord. The 0-62mph dash came and went in 7.2 seconds and a top speed of 142mph was achievable, even if the Accord didn’t have the frenetic power delivery of the Integra despite the VTEC system being present and correct.
The VTEC engine and low weight (a shade over 1,300kg) did, however, help the Integra outpoint the other sports saloons of the time, being faster and more nimble that rivals such as the Alfa Romeo 156 V6 and Ford Mondeo ST200.
2002 Honda Civic Type R EP3
The EP3 wasn’t the first Civic to wear the hallowed Type R badge: that honour went to the EK9 variant in 1997 (the sixth generation of the regular Civic), a car that many purists will be screaming at their screens right now is the ultimate Civic Type R. However, we’ve gone for the EP3 that replaced it in our list of greats, and for one simple reason. The EK9 was only sold in Japan, and finding one is exceptionally difficult. The EP3, meanwhile, was built in Swindon, and finding a good one is not only easy, but even pretty affordable.
Honda Civic Type R Models Over the Years
The EP3 was a tremendous car in its own right, too. The 2.0-litre VTEC petrol engine had a frenetic, rev-hungry character similar to the one found in the Integra, with not a whole lot happening up until 6,000rpm, then all hell suddenly breaking loose from that point on, and the rev limiter not intervening until the engine hits 8,300rpm. And, with 197bhp, it was more powerful than the Integra, so despite its increased weight, it was still able to get from 0-60mph in 6.7 seconds. And, aside from one or two misgivings about the steering, the EP3 is also a thrilling car in the corners, with an adjustable chassis and responsive controls.
2023 Honda Civic Type R FL5
Even when we’ve just been taking a look back over the illustrious history of the Type R badge, and the pantheon of fantastic machines that have worn it over the years, the latest incarnation of the Civic Type R is still worthy of a mention, because it really is THAT good. While the EP3 version we talked about earlier ushered in the era of 200-horsepower hot hatches, the FL5 plays in a different league entirely, its 325bhp putting it alongside super hatches such as the Mercedes A35, Audi S3 and Volkswagen Golf R. As well it should when it costs you £47,000 with no options. Yes, you read that right.
First Drive: Honda Civic Type R FL5
Despite such a price, however, the FL5 is a car that won’t leave you feeling short-changed. You might miss the all-or-nothing power delivery of the naturally aspirated VTEC engines in older Type R models, but the turbocharged unit in the FL5 still thrives on being worked to its limits, yet it pulls hard from low revs, too. It’s a car that’s aggressive and thrilling when taken by the scruff of the neck in Sport mode or Type R mode, thanks to staggering grip and traction, sharp, communicative steering, strong, progressive brakes and one of the best manual gearshifts of any car, well, ever. And when you do manage to get the car somewhere near the limits of these abilities (this will be on a track, naturally, as you’ll get nowhere near them on the public road) it communicates that fact so quickly and clearly, and reacts so faithfully to corrective inputs, that it’s actually a surprisingly easy beast to tame. And then, when your thirst for adrenaline is satisfied and you switch it into Comfort mode for your drive home from the track, it’s docile and compliant enough to easily serve as a daily driver. As a Type R for the modern age, we reckon it’s bordering on perfection.
