Honda Civic Type R to debut at Geneva Motor Show 2014

Honda

The Honda Civic Type R hot hatch will finally make its public debut at the Geneva Motor Show 2014 as a "Concept", and this is the first official picture.

Yes, sadly, it’s still just a design sketch at this stage. But come the beginning of March we will at last be given some idea what the new Type R will actually look like when it eventually goes on sale in 2015.

Judging by the image, not a great deal has changed since MSN Cars drove a prototype in Japan last year – the most rampant Civic ever appears to be resplendent in a fat set of vented wheel arch extensions and blessed with an absolutely ginormous example of the lairy hot hatch rear wing.

Other items of note are the fancy alloy wheels, complete with red rim flanges (as Audi would put it) – though these could easily be different on the day – while you can hardly miss the chunky quad exhaust pipes, nor the diffuser that’s wrapped around them.

Dubbed a "racing car for the road" by the design team, the Type R Concept makes the new SEAT Leon Cupra look like a pussy cat – but having just driven both 265hp and 280hp versions of the Leon, we can tell you appearances can be deceiving.

The Cupra is significant because SEAT is hinting heavily about setting a new Nurburgring front-wheel drive lap record, well below the 8-minute 8-second time of current title holder, the Renaultsport Megane.

Setting a new Nordschleife record has been a development goal for the Civic Type R since day one. SEAT is scheduled to announce the new record in Geneva, so the Honda will be perfectly placed to find out just how far that goalpost has shifted…

Beyond confirming the concept’s attendance at the Geneva show, Honda is saying very little else about the Type R Concept at this stage. However, from our experience in Japan we can confirm that the real thing will be powered by an all-new 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine producing at least 280hp.

Expect the new Type R to go 0-62mph in around 5.5 seconds, come with a full adaptive chassis package – including suspension, throttle response and steering, activated by an R button – and feature a fabulous six-speed manual gearbox. You can read more about the new car by following our review link below.

The new Honda Civic Type R fireworks start at Geneva on 7 March 2014.

Elsewhere on the Honda stand at Geneva, the Japanese carmaker will be showing off a new powertrain display for the forthcoming Honda NSX hybrid supercar, presenting the European debut of the FCEV concept from the LA Motor Show last year, and revealing the livery for its 2014 Civic World Touring Championship Car.

Honda Civic Type R review (2013 prototype)
SEAT Leon Cupra and Cupra 280 review (2014 onwards)
On Bing: see pictures of the 2015 Honda Civic Type R
Find out how much a used Honda Civic Type R costs on Auto Trader
Read another Honda review on MSN Cars

By CJ Hubbard, contributor, MSN Cars