Honda Brought a Ton of Cool Cars to Vegas (Gallery)
Honda’s SEMA booth showcases just how good the Civic Type R is.
You love the Civic Type R, we love the Civic Type R, and it’s clear that Honda does, too, because the company’s SEMA display was covered in reminders of the brand’s super hot hatch. In particular, Honda brought a lot of race cars that were packing glorious K20C power.
The first of which is this Honda Racing Civic Type R, car #18, prepared by Honda’s in-house Research West team. American Honda has R&D teams across the country who, on the side, take regular production cars off the assembly line and turn them into race cars. Between these teams, we have seen hotted up Civic Sis, Accord V6s and even a Honda Odyssey. Now, the Research West team has built up this FK8.
Built originally for the 25 Hours of Thunderhill endurance race, this Civic Type R has some hardcore upgrades.
The powertrain is relatively tame, with an upgraded downpipe, exhaust, intake and ECU tune to produce 380 horsepower. However, a custom racing limited-slip diff replaces the standard helical LSD. Oh, and overheating isn’t an issue thanks to an upgraded Spoon radiator.
From there, the standard adjustable dampers are swapped out for a spec suspension, which includes H&R race springs and bespoke HPD double-adjustable dampers (compression and rebound) with front camber plates and adjustable rear camber arms. The front brakes, Brembos originally, have been replaced with larger 6-piston Paragon calipers and massive 355-mm rotors. Finally a Progress rear sway bar helps this CTR with the rotation it needs in the corners. Oh, and this Type R is about 300 pounds lighter than standard, even with the full cage.
ALSO SEE: Honda Civic Type R Track Tested by Honda-tech
If this front-wheel drive hatchback isn’t hardcore enough for you, no problem. Honda also brought a Civic Type R TCR race car, as well.
This Civic Type R TCR is built by JAS motorsport, and campaigned across the United States by renowned Honda race team, RealTime Racing. Touring Car Racing (TCR) is a catagory of production car-based motorsport that takes place within the excellent IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge (CTSCC) series.
The Civic Type R TCR, while slightly down on power to the Honda Performance Development/Honda Racing car above, makes due with a more aggressive aero package and the stunning widebody kit. That widebody kit, naturally, hides away massively-wide 18-inch wheels shod in Pirelli racing slicks.
The engine is largely standard, with a revised exhaust and ECU calibration, good for 340 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torque. A 6-speed sequential transmission is used in place of the conventional H-pattern unit. Absolutely enormous 380-mm front brakes, with 6-piston calipers stop this widened machine, which now weighs under 2,800 pounds, with driver and fuel.
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If memory serves, RealTime Racing, it’s driver Ryan Eversley and this car all came out swinging, claiming championship points from the very beginning and later securing the title in their class despite it being the first year campaigning the car. Perhaps not too surprising, given how competent the base Type R is, in the first place.
Last but not least if the new Formula 3 Americas car, which is powered by Honda. This F3 car utilizes a detuned version of the K20C, which produces 270 horsepower. Don’t feel too upset for F3 drivers, as the racecar weighs just 1,430 pounds. That lightweight package is the result of using a carbon-composite chassis and bodywork. We’re sure it’s plenty quick.
This is another newcomer to the game, as the F3 Americas championship also got it’s start in 2018. This fulfills something of a Formula-level motorsport vacuum within North America, and now gives aspiring drivers a clear path to go from Formula 4 all the way up to F1. Oh yeah, and it’s a Civic Type R-powered race car that weighs less than an Ariel Atom, has fat racing slicks and a crazy aero package. Weekend racers have should have new aspirations after seeing this.
One last fun fact is the price. Curiously, the F3 racer above is about the same money to buy into as the Civic Type R TCR. The F3 costs $134,000 and the TCR is around $118,000. Of course, after you get the race car and try to campaign it, we’re guessing the cost differential grows just a bit. But, hey, still pretty funny that they are (initially) closer than you may think.
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