What Car? Q&A - Will there be a new Civic Type-R?

Q: I’m considering buying a Honda Civic Type-R in September and heard about a new Civic being launched. I’ve telephoned Honda, but they weren’t that clear on the Type-R. Can you confirm whether or not they are going to change it in the near future?
Andy Leigh

A: The new Civic goes on sale at the end of this year, although Type-R versions won’t be among the first wave of models.

Honda won’t officially confirm if, in fact, another will be built, but our sources agree that it would crazy for them not to have a second-generation Type-R considering how successful the current model has been.

It will probably arrive around the summer of 2006. This might be too far away for you to delay purchase, but it’s close enough to when you said you’re considering buying for it to have an impact on the residuals of the current model.

If you’re intending to keep it for several years then this wouldn’t matter so much, but you’ll still be driving around in the old model.

The new car is likely to have more power too, to help it keep up with the likes of the 197bhp Volkswagen Golf GTI and even more powerful 240bhp Vauxhall Astra VXR. Then there’s the forthcoming Mazda 3 MPS and four-wheel-drive Golf R32, which go on sale at the end of this year with around 250bhp each.