The 10 cars that made Chris Evans drool

10 HONDA CIVIC TYPE R

Few of us could believe this year saw the 20th anniversary of the Honda Civic Type R. And what better way to celebrate than let your design team loose on the M&Ms, see what they come up with and sign it off.

I’d seen pictures beforehand but nothing prepared me for the sheer unbridled audaciousness of a design department gone ga-ga when it arrived in the flesh. It reminded me of the outrageously unapologetic Lamborghini Countach, the official enfant terrible of Seventies automotive hedonism. Whether any of its chaotic collage of scoops, intakes or flicks serves a single aerodynamic or engineering purpose is by and large irrelevant. What seems to matter most is that no one should be left in any doubt that if a 2017 Type R flashes past them, it’s the most nut-job-looking road-legal hatchback of all time.

And despite a 316bhp engine being ridiculously powerful for a front-wheel drive car, a silky smooth gearbox now has all new Type R owners grinning like the proverbial Cheshire cat.

It’s wide too – very wide – which means cornering and road-holding is that much easier. A real talent-magnifier. Indeed, as a pure driving experience, there is very little not to like.

Disciples who worship at the altar of the hot hatch continue to queue up to test drive this bonkers 270km/h speed demon.

Price: €51,750