The new Honda Civic Type R Limited
Edition, which turned out to be an instant success for the Japanese automaker,
has become the official safety car for FIA’s 2020 World Touring Car Cup (WTCR)
season. Sporting a special livery signed by Belgian artist Vanuf, which is
based on the Sunlight Yellow (Phoenix Yellow) color, it will join the Civic
Type R TCR racers at the Salzburgring in Austria, on September 12-13, as well
as the other rounds of this season’s WTCR calendar.
Presented in February at the JAS
Motorsport headquarters in Milan, Italy, which is Honda’s long-term motorsport
official partner and collaborator, the 2020 Civic Type R Limited Edition is a
more track-focused version of the compact hot hatch. It features modified
dampers, two-piece floating brake discs, a stripped-back interior and 20-inch
forged lightweight alloy wheels made by BBS and shod in Michelin Pilot Sport
Cup 2 tires. These have contributed to a weight reduction of 47 kg compared to the GT-spec Type R.
The powertrain remains unchanged, though,
which means that it’s powered by a 2.0-liter VTEC turbocharged engine that
produces 315 HP at 6,500 rpm and 400 Nm of torque
in the European specification and 306 HP on this side of the Atlantic.
