A GENERATIONAL DRAG RACE - THE HONDA CIVIC TYPE R RACES ITS ANCESTORS

Ok, ok, before the JDM fanbois tag in all their mates to come and stick up for their beloved Honda brand, we have to say that we do indeed know that this isn’t really a drag race with every generation of the Hondas Civic Type R. All we can surmise is that Mat meant this generational drag race features all the Civic Type R models officially released in the UK because while they have a selection of five cars, there are two that are noticeable missing. There’s the FD2 from 2007 which was a proper JDM car that was only available for the Japanese market, but since then they’ve been spotted the world over at various shows, meets and on racetracks. We’re pretty sure that if you give us 30 minutes and a wifi connection we could source one that’s on UK soil. Then there’s the OG Civic Type R, the sought-after 1997 EK9, and while it wasn’t released in the UK through official channels, we know they’re around because one of our mates owns a minter of an example of one. Just to recap, it had a mere 1.6-litres in capacity with its B16B powerplant, but had 136 Kw and 160 Nm of torque available which gave it the title of the highest power output per litre normally-spirated engine at the time. It could get to 100 km/h in around 7 seconds, had a quarter mile time of 15.3 seconds and a top speed of 225 km/h - but its handling was part of what made it special. But even with two iconic Type R models missing from this generational drag race, it’s still well worth a watch.

Even if the OG car was there, it’s pretty clear that it should end up last in any kind of drag race thanks to its age and a lack of boost pressure, even with it having a decent overall weight. In this battle, the EP3 and the FD2 are also normally aspirated and so you can guess where they will end up in the results ladder, especially when you consider that the latest incarnation of the car is rated at a whopping 245 kW with 420 Nm - almost a full 100 kW up on the EP3. Even with a weight advantage of over 200 kg, boost is boost and that means an uphill battle on a flat road for the older car. There’s also that roughly £30 000 difference in price, so if the older car had any sort of comparable performance, no one would ever buy a new Civic Type R. With Hondas, there’s always a running joke about the torque that the VTec motors create or at least the lack of it, but the new generation turbocharged models have obviously overcome this now. The only thing that all five of these Hondas have in common is that the power is sent to the front wheels, well that and the Type R badge which some say is good for at least 5 kW. With all of this in mind, which of these five Civic Type R models has your vote? Not just for the drag race outcomes, but in general, which one of these cars would you want to be parked in your driveway? We love power and speed, but from this selection, we’d opt for the 2010 FN2 even though there’s no turbocharger - there’s just something cool about manually cog-swapping a high-revving normally-aspirated Honda lump.

Take a look at the YouTube video where Mat Watson and his connections assemble every generation of the iconic Honda Civic Type R and then pits them against each other in a Honda vs Honda drag race - the perfect way to show how the car has improved over the years: Honda Civic Type R Generations DRAG RACE | carwow

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