Honda Civic Type R project leader Hideki Kakinuma passionately believes the company should continue to build high-performance cars, even as it switches its focus to more environmentally friendly powertrains. Does that mean there might one day be an electric-powered Honda Type R? Kakinuma smiles, then answers the question: “Yes, of course an electric Type R is possible.”
The key roadblock to an all-electric performance Honda, he says, is that any electric propulsion system would have to provide the excitement the company requires from a Type R–branded vehicle. And it would have to be able to be provided to customers for a reasonable price. In other words, something like a Tesla Model 3 Performance fighter from Honda is right now a tall order. But Kakinuma doesn’t rule out the idea: “If all the base concept and philosophy of being a Type R is fulfilled with an electric powertrain … sure, this can happen.”
Before Honda even starts thinking about electric Type Rs, though, Kakinuma regards the 2020 Civic Type R and the lighter, more track-focused 2021 Civic Type R Limited Edition as unfinished business. Asked whether a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine with 306-hp, 295-lb-ft is the limit for a front-drive chassis, his response is immediate: “No, we are not at the limit,” he says. “I personally believe that we can go beyond this level with a front-drive configuration. If I continue to work on Civic Type R, it will be to even further improve the performance.”
Will we see that with this generation Type R? Kakinuma doesn’t say directly, but hints that it’s not likely, pointing out the 2020 Type R refresh has come three years after the launch of the current generation Civic, which means the current Type R has about two years to run before the 11th-generation version of Honda’s compact car is likely to appear.
Lending weight to that scenario is the fact that Honda has already announced its plant in Swindon, England, where the current Civic Type R is produced—along with every four-door Civic hatchback sold in the world—will close in July next year. Honda says the closure was not a direct result of Britain voting to leave the European Union, which could leave the company vulnerable to tariffs on Swindon-built cars sold in Europe, but prompted by a pivot toward electric vehicles. However, Swindon produces about 160,000 Civic hatchbacks a year, and the success of the car in the U.S. means demand has in fact increased, Honda sources say.
Future four-door Civic hatchback production will actually be split between Japan and the U.S., and that means the next-generation Type R will come from one of those countries. “We’re not quite sure where the next-generation Civic Type R—if there is one—is going to be produced,” Kakinuma says guardedly, making sure to neither confirm or deny any future model plans.
Until production was switched to Swindon, the Civic Type R had always been built in Japan. But the current Type R engine, codenamed AP4T, is built in Honda’s Anna, Ohio, engine plant, primarily because it shares parts with the engine that powers high-volume U.S.-built Hondas such as the Accord. Could that swing the decision to build the new-gen Civic Type R in America? Watch this space.
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Source: WORLD NEWS
