Honda Civic Ti (2012) first official pictures

Honda has glued a few glitzy bits to the latest Civic in recognition of its British Touring Car Championship participation, to create the new Civic Ti.

The 5-door ‘race-inspired’ Civic is based on the 1.8 SE model, but comes with colour-coded wheel arches and some 17-inch ‘Le Mans’ alloy wheels.

If that’s not enough to send you running down to the dealership, then Honda hopes the addition of a leather-wrapped steering wheel and gearstick might. Climate control, Bluetooth and iPod connectivity and audio steering wheel controls have been added to sweeten the, £17,000 they’ll ask you to put down, should you want one.

At £1000 less than the standard 1.8 SE it's based on, the Ti appears good value for money among similar models.

Honda has announced it will be releasing just 1000 Ti's into the wild, with just three colours to choose from: red, white and silver, paying homage to the 2012 touring car livery.

The last generation Civic Ti was a run out special edition, but the ease with which Honda managed to shift the 500 units made has clearly encouraged Honda to introduce the Ti earlier in the new model Civic's lifespan.

By Rory Smith