Official press release by Honda of Europe on the future new Civic Type-R
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At today’s Frankfurt Motor Show Press Conference,
Manabu Nishimae, President, Honda Motor Europe revealed the first
details of the hotly anticipated new Civic Type R. Powered by a direct
injection turbocharged 2- litre engine, the new Civic Type R will
deliver at least 280 PS.
Honda confirmed ambitions for the Civic Type R to
become the fastest front wheel drive car around the infamous Nurburgring
circuit in Germany. The car still faces a further 2 years of
development before going on sale in 2015 however, on-track testing has
already begun. “We have recently spent a week at the Nurburgring,
carrying out extensive testing and we are on target, and have already
set a time approaching the lap record”, said Manabu Nishimae.
A film demonstrating the impressive performance
and handling of the Civic Type R development car on the Nurburgring with
Gabriele Tarquini, Honda’s WTCC driver behind the wheel, was premiered
during the Honda Press Conference.
Honda’s new Civic Tourer made its public debut at
the show and during the Press Conference, it was confirmed that it would
achieve impressively low CO2 emissions from only 99g/km* (3,8 litres l/100km)
when partnered with Honda’s 1.6 i-DTEC engine. The Civic Tourer builds
on the strength of the Civic 5-Door, offering class leading boot space
and practicality.
“For me, the strength of the car is the
synergy of functionality, versatility, and dynamic design. As a European
development team, we’re passionate and proud about what we’ve
achieved”, said Adrian Killham, Large Project Leader for Civic Tourer.
(*Honda internal figures)
Honda S660 CONCEPT
Magazines in Japan are currently going a bit crazy with rumours and supposed 'scoop info' on new models to be launched in Japan in the near future, including new Honda models. One of the Honda models in focus is the new Accord, in the form of a 'proper' Accord Hybrid rather than the full electric plug in. TOV/TOVA contributor DanielGr put up a scan of japanese magazine Holiday Auto's article with some details on the new Accord Hybrid (image on the left). 
Our new 4G CR-V 'First Drive' impressions article from the Honda Malaysia media drive event is now up in TOVA. Please go to http://asia.vtec.net/Reviews/4GCRVFirst/index.html#.UZMjEkoYQs4 to read the article. Feel free to give us your feedback and thoughts here.
This trip however is purely for pleasure and I elected to attend an organized tour by Apple Vacations, the premier tour agency for holidays in Japan and Korea. The trip was very well organized and extremely enjoyable, a trademark of Apple Vacation holiday tours. My wife and I were taken on an unforgettable tour which included cities like Fukuoka, Kobe, Yokohama, Nagasaki, Osaka, Kyoto and of course Tokyo. Many of the must-visit places were also located on the outskirts and countryside, e.g. the hot springs of Hakone and also the legendary Fujisan (Mount Fuji, the icon of Japan).
The next generation '4G' CR-V is coming to ASEAN. Finally. Delayed by the floods in Thailand, Honda has now recovered fully and is speeding up the introduction of models that have been affected. Therefore after this CR-V, expect the new 9G Accord to come very soon as well. As the 4G CR-V has already been launched in the U.S., Japan, and most other parts of the world for months already, more or less everything is known of the car. For ASEAN, the CR-V will come with only 1 powertrain option as usual, a 2.0-liter SOHC i-VTEC with a max power of 155
horsepower at 6,500 rpm, an increase of 5 horsepower as compared to its
predecessor. Torque is rated at 190 Nm at 4,300 rpm. As with all newest Honda models, the new 4G CR-V is also equipped with an 'ECON' mode that adjusts the powertrain operations for optimum fuel economy. As normal, the CR-V comes with the standard 5AT transmission.The launch for Malaysia will happen in the middle of this week itself.
