2021 Honda Civic Type R Heats Up with Exclusive Limited Edition

TORRANCE, Calif., Sept. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2021 Honda Civic Type R begins arriving in dealers today, heightened by the addition later this month of the ultimate street-legal Type R, the Limited Edition. Since its U.S. debut in 2017, Civic Type R has quickened the pulses of hot-hatch enthusiasts, earning widespread praise from media and owners alike. The new Limited Edition model turns up Type R performance further still, with lower weight, improved handling, a higher-performance wheel and tire combination, and an exclusive, eye-catching Phoenix Yellow paint.

The 2021 Civic Type R comes with a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price of $37,495, while the Type R Limited Edition has an MSRP of $43,995 (neither including the $955 destination and handling charge). With only 600 Limited Edition units available, it is recommended buyers contact their local authorized dealerships directly for availability of this exclusive model.

The 2021 Type R Limited Edition will come in an exclusive Phoenix Yellow color, with gloss black paint on the roof, outside mirror caps, and intake vent on the hood, along with a dark chrome Civic badge on the rear hatch. Inside, each Limited Edition has a special numbered plaque on the center console designating its build number.

The 2021 Civic Type R and Type R Limited Edition carry forward the numerous updates made to the 2020 Type R, including the freshened front and rear exterior styling, larger grille opening and radiator for improved engine cooling, and interior updates such as the Alcantara™-wrapped steering wheel, and a new weighted shift knob. Both feature the Honda Sensing^® suite of safety and driver-assistive technologies as standard equipment, including Collision Mitigation Braking System™ (CMBS™) with Forward Collison Warning, Road Departure Mitigation with Lane Departure Warning, Lane Keeping Assist, and Adaptive Cruise Control.

TYPE R LIMITED EDITION
The 2021 Type R Limited Edition embodies multiple engineering and feature changes designed to maximize performance, without sacrificing Type R's unique combination of razor-sharp performance and civilized daily-driving manners.

Racers know that reducing weight is key to better performance at the track, which is why a number of measures were taken to reduce the curb weight of the Type R Limited Edition by 46 pounds versus the standard Type R.

Replacing the standard Type R wheels with lightweight forged-aluminum alloys from BBS saves the Type R Limited Edition an additional 18 pounds of unsprung weight, which has an important impact on agility and roadholding with a side benefit to ride comfort. The lighter weight results in lower rotational inertia, an effect amplified by lightweight two-piece floating front brake rotors that were applied to all Type Rs in 2020, which yielded a 2.5 pounds of weight savings per side. Going further still, 28 pounds of sound deadening materials have been removed from the roof, rear hatch panel, and front fenders and dash; even the cargo cover, rear heater ducts and rear wiper mechanism were removed to save weight.

The Type R Limited Edition also features grade-exclusive Michelin Cup 2 tires with improved cornering performance². To take full advantage of the lighter weight wheels and extra-grippy tires, Limited Edition features unique programming for the Active Damper System (ADS), which was already updated just last year to sample inputs 10 times faster the before. Similarly, the electrically assisted power steering has been reprogrammed to match the elevated dynamic performance and lighter weight of the BBS alloys. The result is an even more rewarding driving experience, especially during on-track driving.

Under the hood, the 2021 Civic Type R and Type R Limited Edition draw power from the same race-bred 2.0-liter direct-injected and turbocharged 4-cylinder engine with VTEC™ valvetrain, putting out a peak 306-horseopwer (SAE net) and a peak 295 lb.-ft. of torque (SAE net), with power to the front wheels delivered through a close-ratio 6-speed manual transmission and limited-slip differential. Both Type R models allow drivers to choose between three driving modes – Comfort, Sport and +R – that vary throttle mapping, damping force and steering assist.

Suzuka Track Record
The Civic Type R Limited Edition (European spec) recently stormed to a new front-wheel drive track record at Suzuka Circuit, Honda's Formula 1 racetrack in Japan, with a time of 2 minutes 23.993 seconds. Originally built as a test facility for Honda, the 3.6-mile Suzuka track's figure-8 configuration today is known worldwide as a highlight of the Formula 1 season as a driver and fan favorite. To read more about this achievement, visit Hondanews.com.

About Honda
Honda offers a full line of reliable, fuel-efficient and fun-to-drive vehicles with advanced safety technologies sold through over 1,000 independent U.S. Honda dealers. The Honda lineup includes the Fit, Civic and Accord passenger cars, along with the HR-V, CR-V, Passport and Pilot sport utility vehicles, the Ridgeline pickup and the Odyssey minivan. Honda's electrified vehicle lineup includes the Insight hybrid-electric sedan, Accord Hybrid, CR-V Hybrid, and the Clarity series.

Honda has been producing automobiles in America for more than 35 years and currently operates 19 major manufacturing facilities in North America. In 2019, more than 90 percent of all Honda brand vehicles sold in the U.S. were made in North America, using domestic and globally sourced parts.

For More Information
Additional media information including detailed pricing features and high-resolution photography of all 2019 Honda models is available at hondanews.com. Consumer information is available at automobiles.honda.com. To join the Honda community on Facebook, visit facebook.com/honda.

¹ European specification
² High-performance summer tires are not designed for winter driving and will wear faster than normal passenger car tires. Please see your Honda dealer for details.

SOURCE American Honda Motor Co., Inc.