The 2020 Honda Civic Type R family
continues to grow in Europe with the introduction of the new Type R Sport Line
and the Type R Limited Edition, also available in the United States. Whereas
the new Honda Civic Type R Limited Edition has been billed as the “ultimate
track-focus Type R,” the Civic Type R Sport Line adopts a more restrained
design that could be perfect for those who think the standard model is a little
over-the-top.
The most notable styling difference between
the Civic Type R Sport Line and all others is the removal of the hot hatch’s
towering rear wing. Sitting in its place is a much smaller spoiler and one that
appears even more subtle than the wing of the Civic Si. Some other changes have
been made to the car also.
For example, the Civic Type R Sport Line includes exclusive dark grey 19-inch wheels
with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires with a softer sidewall to improve comfort
and improve the noise, vibration, and harshness characteristics. Inside, there
are black bucket seats with red stitching and a new tear-drop style gear knob.
Also found within is an Alcantara steering wheel and a host of red stitching.
Complementing the arrival of the Civic
Type R Sport Line in Europe is a new performance datalogger for the U.S. and
European markets. Dubbed Honda LogR, the datalogger combines the car’s onboard
computers and sensors with a smartphone app that helps to record a number of
performance parameters. Key information will be displayed on the car’s 7-inch
infotainment screen when the car is moving while additional information will be
available through the app when the phone is unplugged.
Included among the measurements taken by
the datalogger are a G-meter and a graph that displays the Type R’s pitch,
roll, and yaw. There is also a Log Mode that aims to improve driver’s lap times
by displaying a color-coded trace of each lap with green, yellow, and red
colors indicating various stages of progression. Log Mode aims to encourage
“smooth use of the clutch, shifter, steering, brakes, and accelerator.”
