22 Oct 09 11:49
Honda has confirmed that it will be putting its awesome Civic Type-R Mugen into production and it will be built at Mugen's base in Northampton.
An exclusive run of up to 20 cars will be hand-built by the specialist tuner and customers will get a unique, involved experience during the build process of each car.
Hiroki Toyoda, Mugen Euro's vice president said: 'Each Type R Mugen will be an exclusive, hand-built race car for the road. When we launched the Civic Type RR saloon in Japan, we sold out of all 300 units in just six minutes. Given the interest we have already had from car enthusiasts in the UK and abroad, we hope to repeat that achievement.'
The 2.0-litre i-VTEC engine is the first to reap the benefits of Mugen's experience in Formula 1 and GT racing, as well as hundreds of development hours and testing time with the Honda K20A engine on the world-class MUGEN engine dyno.
New camshafts and a modified intake system have increased power by 20% to 236bhp, and boost torque by 10% throughout the rev range.
There will be change of pistons to increasing the compression ratioand a custom stainless steel exhaust system and Mugen airbox will be fitted to the 20 cars. Meanwhile, a bespoke Mugen map for the ECU will be installed to increase power.
'Mugen engineers pay incredible attention to detail, often measuring to one thousandth of a millimetre when tuning and rebuilding an engine, and this process typically takes approximately seven days of work,' added Toyoda. 'When our engineers aren't building customer engines, they are at circuits with top level race and rally teams helping to manage and prepare race engines. We are very proud to bring our motorsport experience to the road with this high performance Honda engine, the very first time that a Mugen-tuned engine has ever been offered for use on the road in the UK.'
The extra power of the tuned engine is transferred to road or track via a limited slip differential, and grip and a revised suspension set-up, with custom-made springs and dampers will be fitted to the car. Special lightweight brake callipers and alloy wheels will also be included.
A larger rear wing, front and rear skirts and a new grille wearing the Mugen emblem enhances the nose comprise will adorn the exterior and every R Mugen will be painted in Honda's Championship White - the traditional racing colour of the brand, in which its first Formula 1 car was painted back in 1964.
To authenticate the car's exclusivity each will wear a special badge inside on the centre console, listing the serial number of each unique model.
To make the ultimate Type R even more extreme, particularly for circuit use, Mugen is offering an optional 'Track Pack'. This package includes front Recaro seats, removal of the rear seat bench with a composite blanking panel fitted to reduce weight, water and oil temperature/pressure gauges, data recording equipment, and track-ready road-legal tyres.
Without the track pack the Mugen R will cost buyers £38,599 but each of the Type Rs will be built to the customer's exact specification, including their choice of options. Even ECU mapping can be adjusted to suit specific customer tastes or driving style.
