Honda to enter BTCC with new Civic Tourer

What do One Direction and Honda’s British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) team have in common? While both were initially likeable and talented, they’re now starting to get a little bit too cocky.

With four successive championship wins under its belt, Honda has announced that it will enter its new Civic Tourer estate into the BTCC next year. And here’s the first official picture, to prove it isn’t joking.

On Bing: see pictures of Honda’s BTCC cars

Find out how much a used Honda Civic estate costs on Auto Trader

This is definitely not a PR exercise, apparently. Honda UK MD Philcross said: “we wanted to add a new challenge to the mix”.

That’s right – racing Civic hatchbacks is getting way too easy, so it’s going to try competing with an estate car instead.

Either way, Honda’s not scrimping on power. The Tourer will be fitted with a 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine that produces around 300hp.

Peter Crolla, Team Manager says:

“Racing with the Civic Tourer means no compromise over the Civic hatchback. The weight, wheelbase, layout and suspension remain the same, but naturally, the length of the car is extended due to the larger tailgate.”

With orders for the estate road car starting next month, we wonder if this means Honda will be introducing a Civic Tourer Type R. Probably not, but it’d be good to give the Focus ST estate a bit of competition.

It’s not the first time we’ve seen estates in the BTCC, of course. Volvo used an 850 back in a 1994, before switching to saloons due to ‘changes in regulations’. Will the Civic Tourer last longer than Volvo’s effort? We can’t wait to find out.

2014 Honda Civic Tourer priced from £20,265

Honda Civic Type R review (2013 prototype)

Honda Civic Tourer prototype review (2013 onwards)

On Bing: see pictures of Honda’s BTCC cars

Find out how much a used Honda Civic estate costs on Auto Trader

By motoringresearch.com