Honda has revealed details of the new Civic Type R, on sale in July.
With prices starting at £30,995 the company’s flagship hot hatch will undercut its great rival the Ford Focus – although that car comes with four-wheel drive.
That’s just £795 more than the outgoing Type R. PCP it, and Honda says you’re looking at around £299/month on a three-year deal.
The Type R GT will start at £32,995 (£495 more than the old Civic GT) and gets navigation, an upgraded stereo, dual-zone climate control, and blind-spot monitoring among others.
It’s powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine with 316bhp and, although it’s based on the latest Civic, the Type R has revised suspension to give sharper handling.
There’s also a selection of driving modes, which tailor the adaptive dampers, steering, gear shift and throttle response depending on the driver’s preference.
Power is sent to the front wheels and through a six-speed manual transmission.
The Type R has recently intensified the hype surrounding it by setting the new fastest lap for a front-wheel drive production car around Germany’s famed Nürburgring.
As for the competition, the Ford Focus RS starts at £32,265, and a five-door VW Golf R is £32,695 – more than the Civic, but both come with all-wheel drive.
A front-wheel drive, five-door Seat Leon Cupra (a previous front wheel drive Nürburgring record holder) is £30,455, and the rear-drive BMW M140i is £33,180.
Buyers have arguably never had such a wealth of hot hatch talent to choose from.
The wonderfully titled Head of Cars at Honda UK, Phil Webb, commented: “The order bank is already open and we are experiencing strong interest off the back of the launch at the Geneva Motor Show in March – before our customers have even taken a test drive.”