It might be the ultimate sport compact Honda. This is the one. The raw, stripped out track machine of legend. When a company sets out to design a fast front-drive hatch this is the benchmark. It's one of the legends, and it was never officially brought to North America. It's a Honda Civic Type R. The first Civic to get the Type R badge. And it's our autoTRADER.ca Find of the Week.
Honda's Type R badge means racing. The first car to get it was the NSX, in 1992. That took the already-fast NSX and dropped weight, added stiffness, removed luxury features, and added sharpness. Sold only in Japan, the NSX-R is still wonderfully quick.
The next vehicle to wear the Type R badge was the Integra. It followed the same formula. Lighter, stronger, faster. That one made it to North America, but it was never a common car.
The next one to wear the red H badge was this one. The EK9 chassis Civic hatchback.
It was based on the basic three-door hatch. The commuter-spec car that normally came as a 1.3L four-cylinder with 13-inch steel wheels, and not much else.
Then Honda engineers went a little crazy. For starters, the chassis was seam welded. That means that instead of welding the body together with a spot weld every few inches, Honda welded the entire thing. That adds weight but massively increases stiffness, improving handling.
Underneath, the car got five-bolt hubs with larger brakes and 15-inch lightweight wheels. The car also got a body kit with a very tasteful - looking at you, 2018 Civic Type R - wing, side skirts, and front bumper.
Inside, the Type R got Recaro buckets in a very, very noticeable red fabric. The Type R's signature colour, to go along with the red H Honda badges, the door cards and floor mats were in a matching shade. It was loud in there, with much of the sound deadening gone to help lower weight.
But the real party was under the hood. The B16B engine. The Type R got a 1.6L four-cylinder engine that could scream to 8,400 rpm. That's right, eight thousand, four hundred rpm. A stratospheric redline that is nearly impossible to equal in a new car today. Along with that, it made 187 hp just shy of that redline. Torque was a not so high 118 lb-ft, but this car weighed less than 1,100 kg. It was quick.
The transmission was a quick-shifting five-speed with a helical limited slip differential. Only offered in Japan, this was the Civic hatch that enthusiasts drooled over for most of the 2000s. You've probably driven one, even if it was only in Gran Turismo.
The Civic Type R we've found this week is for sale in Concord, ON. With just 115,295 km on the odometer, it's as new of an example of this car as you're likely to find.
This one is mostly stock, but does have an aftermarket intake and exhaust, letting you better hear that VTEC fury. This car also has a carbon fibre hood, helping trim even more weight from the car.
If you're looking for one of the classic hot hatches, this can be one of the hardest to find. But if you want one, here it is. Our autoTRADER.ca Find of the Week, a 1999 Honda Civic Type R.
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