Save the manual series episode 3 – 2021 Honda Civic Type R

The Honda Civic is losing its coupe physique, and has lopped off that elongated ass in favour of a hot, hot hatch. Now, the new Civic may have lost that derriere, but it will retain the gear-controlling stick that we’re trying to save. If you’re feeling brave, and fancy pairing a turbocharged 2.0L 4-cylinder engine with a six-speed manual transmission, then you can opt for the 306hp Honda Civic Type R Limited Edition.

Hold your horses

Now the Type R doesn’t necessarily come packed with more horses than its regular counterpart. But the carriage is certainly lighter, with lightweight 20-inch forged BBS wheels, reducing unsprung weight by 8 kgs, sharpened suspension and a recalibrated steering that will definitely improve performance and handling over the regular trim. 

This is a welcome announcement from the type R engineering team, who’ve found the perfect formula for proper handling on this front-wheel-drive speedster. 

There will be just over 1,000 of these Type R’s going into production, and they all come in just one colour: Phoenix Yellow. Not gonna lie, nothing’s ever looked better in yellow than this sporty Civic.

To complete its sporty image, the Type R will get a redesigned grille, lighter two-piece front brake rotors and a reprogrammed software for the adaptive shocks.

Add to this stiffer suspension bushings in the front and rear and lower-friction ball joints, and you’ve got enough to join Toretto and the gang in trying to hijack some trucks on the freeway.

Not that you can’t race some straights and smoke a skyline on your way to pink slip glory. This one can notch up to 290 km/h at the top end, which ain’t slow. Not slow at all.

This is definitely not your average Honda Civic. We’re just thrilled that it comes with manual transmission and, maybe more importantly in this case, that they managed to improve the handling so you don’t go skidding all over the place.

The Type R makes it at number 3 on our list.