Typically you meet a automobile that turns all the things you thought you knew concerning the mannequin on its head. The 2007-2011 FD2 Honda Civic Type R is the right living proof. Let me clarify.

Again in 2006, a decade earlier than the most popular model of the Civic formally made it to the US, Honda’s Swindon plant within the UK was beginning to churn out the new Civic Type R scorching hatch to ship to sellers in Britain and all over the world. It featured the newest FN2-generation hatchback Civic’s sci-fi styling, however the acquainted high-revving, naturally-aspirated 2.0 K20 motor from the dear 2001-2005 EP3 Civic Type R hatch.

Disappointingly, it put out treasured little additional energy to offset the brand new automobile’s fuller waistline, so there was no great step forward in efficiency. Critiques had been optimistic, however not effusive. Gross sales although, had been robust, as a result of the FN2 was a brilliantly daring little bit of design. It appeared like some form of futuristic fighter pilot’s helmet and featured extra triangle motifs than an Egyptian tourism advert.

However over in Japan it was a really totally different story. Along with providing Sort R followers a new hot hatch, Honda served up its dwelling market clients a four-door sedan. The physique may not have been as avant-garde because the European hatch’s, however the detailing was beautiful and included a high-rise spoiler, Enkei rims and the must-have Championship White paint choice not obtainable on the three-door within the UK.

Associated: The Honda Civic Type R Limited Edition Is Worth Every Penny Of Its $43,995 MSRP

It’s on the highway although, the place you are feeling how totally different – and the way way more enjoyable – the sedan is to drive. Get the wheels rolling and also you’re instantly struck by how gentle the FD2 feels on its toes. The gearchange is snick-snick excellent and the engine provides revs cleanly and effortlessly, the noise a barely strained growl at medium speeds that hints at what’s to come back.

However when is it going to come back? Whereas the UK-spec FN2’s K20Z4 2.0-litre twin cam made 198 hp and 142 lb ft, the JDM FD2 put out a stomping 221 hp and 159 lb ft courtesy of its K20A four-cylinder because of goodies like excessive compression pistons.

That sounds robust on paper, however there’s no getting away from… nicely, no getting away from something in any respect except you utilize all the 8600 obtainable revs (in contrast with 8200rpm for the FN2). Plant your foot down at 4500 rpm in fourth gear, precisely the purpose at which an Impreza or Evo would erupt down the highway in a pressured induction frenzy, and also you get a bit extra noise and never a lot of anything.

After which all of a sudden, at round 5800 rpm, you’re transported proper into the center of a type of ‘VTEC Yo!’ memes. A well mannered little VTEC gentle illuminates on the sprint, whereas a really impolite engine assaults each certainly one of your senses and the air in its path. All of the sudden your candy little four-door sedan is making a noise like a full-on touring automobile, and also you’re frantically throwing gears at it to maintain the rev needle from attempting to introduce itself to the quantity 9 on the dial.

A decade in the past an engine with this type of character already appeared particular. However now, in an period of homogenised turbo power, it’s virtually laborious to imagine we ever had vehicles so uncooked, so… thrilling.

Positive, you might add a number of selection induction and exhaust mods to deliver the FN2 hatch’s output near the sedan’s, however there’s extra happening right here than the engine. When the very first EK9 Civic Type R went on sale in Japan in 1997, it featured double wishbones up entrance and a multi-link rear. However by the point the wagon-shaped EP3 hatch arrived in 2001 the entrance suspension had been swapped for cheaper, inferior MacPherson struts. After which with the launch of the 2006 FN2 hatch, Honda changed the rear multi-link rear with a easy torsion beam.

Nevertheless, the FD2 saloon caught with the multi-link rear which means it was dragging much less unsprung mass and every rear wheel may react extra appropriately to modifications within the highway floor. That ought to imply larger refinement and extra management however the FD2’s extra aggressive spring and damper charges means it feels busy on lower than clean roads. There’s little question the FN2 hatch can be simpler to reside with on a protracted journey or daily.

The four-door CTR wasn’t constructed for grinding alongside freeways at 70 mph, although. It may be a small Japanese sedan but it surely clearly thinks it’s a 911 GT3 in a compact saloon physique, and on nation roads, it’s virtually as a lot enjoyable to thrash. Perhaps extra so, as a result of you possibly can truly thrash it extra of the time.

Whether or not you’re on the gasoline, on the brakes working these Brembo calipers, or leaning on the sticky tires and feeling the usual restricted slip diff – a bit of equipment the FN2 hatch didn’t get till 2009 – assist you claw your means spherical each nook, the Sort R feels completely in its ingredient. In a mid 2000s episode of the British TV present Fifth Gear, Vicki Butler Henderson pitted the FN2 towards the FD2 round a moist Citadel Combe race circuit and located the sedan 3 seconds faster.

For me although, the larger enchancment, and one you possibly can recognize in any respect speeds, not simply working flat out, is one you are feeling by your fingers, not the seat of your pants. Whereas the FN2 adopted the precedent set by the EP3, going for an electrically assisted steering rack, the FD2 bought old-fashioned hydraulic steering that communicates messages from the entrance wheels way more transparently.

That purity of connection sums this Civic up. There’s a sincerity to the FD2 Sort R not all quick vehicles can declare. There are not any gimmicks, no ‘sport’ buttons, no multi-setting dampers, and no faux sound results. It doesn’t make any pretense at being the right all-rounder within the method of a Volkswagen Golf GTi.

At the moment, that purity is without doubt one of the causes FD2s are so extremely prized. Whereas they’re nonetheless too new to be legally imported and pushed on the highway within the US, many gray import vehicles have discovered their solution to the UK, Europe and Australia over the previous 14 years, the place they maintain cult standing – and are priced accordingly. Whilst you can decide up an FN2 Sort R hatch for beneath £3000 ($4225), FD2 Sort R sedan will value you 5 instances as a lot.