The
Honda Civic Type R family is growing bigger in the United States with the Civic
Type R TC race car. Engineered
by Honda Performance Development (HPD) for SRO TC Americas and amateur Touring
Car competition, the new model bridges the gap between the Civic Si TCA and
Type R TCR in Honda’s turnkey Civic-based customer racing portfolio.
Targeting
both professional racers and Type R enthusiasts who want to go from track time
in a stock Type R to a fully built race car, the Civic Type R TC racer costs a
hefty US$ 89,900. You can’t just go to a dealership and buy one, though. The new
race car is available exclusively through HPD for Honda Racing Line members
with racing licenses.
What do you get for more than twice the cost of a base Civic Type R for the
street? Stuff like a high-flow front grille, J’s Racing FRP vented hood,
HPD/Pyrotect bolt-in FIA 16-gallon fuel cell, welded multi-point racing cage,
and an OMP racing seat with 6-point harness.
The Civic Type R TC also features a six-speed manual
transmission with high-strength 3rd and 4th gears, CSF-designed radiator and
oil cooler, an HPD/Cusco limited slip differential, HPD Girodisk 2-piece front
brake rotors and HPD brake inlet ducts, and HPD/Borla downpipe and turbo back
exhaust.
The
engine is the same U.S.-built 2.0-liter VTEC Turbo unit as in the road car but
can be tuned to produce between 270 and 330 horsepower, depending on the series
application. While developed and tested in-house by HPD engineers, the Civic
Type R TC’s final assembly is done by Gradient Racing in Austin, Texas.
