The New Honda Civic Type R Looks Even More Beastly In Touring Car Mode

Honda has announced it is set to race the new Civic Type R in the 2015 British Touring Car Championship, and if these photos are anything to go by, the racer’s an even more pumped-up version of the road-going car.

We already know the new Type R is a track weapon, as a production-spec pre-production vehicle absolutely destroyed the Megane RS’s front-wheel drive lap record. This version looks like it’ll turn the wick up even further, as although it’s based on the standard car, the Team Dynamics crew have completely reworked it for increased downforce, less drag and more efficient air flow management.

The race car is powered by essentially the same turbocharged 2.0-litre VTEC engine found in the road car, but here it makes 350bhp (up from 306bhp). Torque is the same at 295lb ft.

The only sad thing about this news is that the outgoing estate model that was raced by Honda Yuasa Racing last year has been ditched, however we think we can get over that when the hatchback looks this good.