When Honda unleashed the current generation Civic Type R, its boy racer charms, potent turbocharged four cylinder engine, and a moniker soaked in history were a winning formula for a majority of young buyers. But what if your an older buyer that wants to have plenty of Civic Type R fun but in a more subtle wrapper? Honda has unveiled the answer with the debut of the all new Civic Type R Sport Line.
Before we get into what makes this flavor of Civic unique, there is a bit of bad news report with Honda having no plans to send this variant of the Civic to the U.S. Honda claims that our version of the Type R is the ultimate iteration of Honda performance in the U.S. (shooting down rumors of a hotter Acura NSX in the process) and that this is a key reason for the Sport Line not making the trek across the pond. For our friends across the pond though, the Sport Line does bring a number of revisions to make things smoother. The rear wing is axed, and the Sport Line features 19-inch wheels with a dark finish as well as V shaped spokes. The tires themselves feature softer sidewalls which in turn helps create a more supple ride and extra sound deadening at the rear of the car reduces noise vibration and harshness in the cabin. As mentioned, the wing is pitched, with Honda engineers adding a small rear spoiler in its place as well as a gray accent line which makes up for all the red trim also being benched for this model.
This is thankfully not done in the interior which features heavily bolstered performance seats covered in black upholstery and red trim. The steering wheel is wrapped in Alcantara and a newly updated gear shifter adopts a tear drop shape. We suspect that this change was made to help improve grip and usability especially when pushing the car through rigorous performance driving. The performance hardware is unchanged here, with the Sport Line still using the familiar 2.0 liter turbocharged four cylinder which makes 315 horsepower for the European market versus the 306 offered for U.S. customers. A six speed manual is the only transmission choice available with no automatic to be found.
Honda has not released pricing for the Sport Line as of yet, but look for that information to be unveiled closer to its official European launch.
Carl Malek has been an automotive journalist for over 10 years. First starting out as a freelance photographer before making the transition to writing during college, his work has appeared on numerous automotive forums as well as websites such as Autoshopper.com.
Carl is also a big fan of British vehicles with the bulk of his devotion going to the Morgan Motor Company as well as offerings from Lotus, MG, and Caterham. When he is not writing about automobiles, Carl enjoys spending time with his family and friends in the Metro Detroit area, as well as spending time with his adorable pets.