This Honda Accord Euro R Is A Hard-To-Find Slice Of JDM Cool

We love ourselves a topical used car pick here at CT, so when Acura announced its plans to bring back the Integra a few weeks back, we quickly dived into the classifieds to find something suitable. A Honda Integra Type R, be it a DC2 or DC5, seemed a little obvious - instead, we (optimistically) wanted to go leftfield and hunt out an Accord Euro R, a car produced exclusively for the Japanese Domestic Market.

These are rare enough in Japan, so the chances of finding one that’s made it over to the UK are slim. Sure enough, no suitable feature candidates came up, but now, we (belatedly) have a car to feature. Up for sale is this 2000 example, and it was worth the wait.

Being based on the JDM version of the sixth-generation Honda saloon, it looks quite different to the European Accord Type R which arrived a couple of years earlier. The JDM Accord’s base bodywork diverges significantly, and the aesthetic part of the Euro R performance makeover was very different too. There’s a much smaller rear wing, simpler side skirts and some neat plastic wheel arch extensions.

Mechanically, though, they’re much more alike. Both the ‘CH1’ Type R and ‘CL1’ Euro R use an H22A 2.2-litre naturally-aspirated i-VTEC inline-four, driving the front wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox and a Torsen helical limited-slip differential.

The Euro R has the edge in terms of power, producing 217bhp to the Type R’s 209, albeit at the same lofty point in the rev range - 7200rpm. The Euro R was also a more pared-back, focused thing, yielding a lower weight figure. Our pick for today appears to lack even a stereo (that unit sitting below the middle set of vents is actually a digital climate control module).

The 2000 example is fresh off the boat at Devon-based JDM import specialist Torque GT. It’s done 95,630 and is finished in Premium White Pearl, which is NH624P for you paint code geeks.

It’s unmodified save for a set of Enkei RPF1 wheels that suit the car nicely in any case. This Euro R is described as being in “fabulous condition throughout,” and it certainly looks to be that way from a flick through the advert’s many images.

It’s £9,990, and yes, you could get a tidy Type R for a lot less. Whether or not the premium is worth it for the sake of getting hold of a more interesting car is up to you, but we’d be tempted, particularly as a lot of imported JDM Honda curios (like the FD2 Civic Type R, for instance) sell for a whole lot more.

Would you?

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