And all because the lady loves.. driving a slinky Honda with vortex generators
Life is like a box of chocs and the Type R is that purple nutty one everyone wants
A racing driver is one of the top jobs young people aspire to, apparently, along with becoming a footballer and a pop star. So no surprise there then.
This crossed my mind as I hurtled down the straight at the Lausitzring, near Dresden, in eastern Germany. I didn’t dare to look at the speedometer.
Ahead of me was the instructor whose racing line I was following and behind me a colleague with whom I would swap places in a couple of laps.
Now, generally, I am not a fan of track driving and would rather spend a night watching darts than put myself through the ordeal of f linging a car around a lot of dangerous bends.
However, this was no ordinary car. This was the latest version of Honda’s Civic Type R which I had already driven down the autobahn to the Euro Speedway and I was intrigued as to how it would perform.
I knew all about the amazing aerodynamics that kept it glued to the track – or sucked on, as one expert from Honda put it.
And it was so much more comfortable than the last model. I would be happy to sink into these seats and take it around town – potholes and all.
Partly this is because the genius Hideki Kakinuma who created this car has delivered three driving modes: Comfort for everyday use, Sport for a bit of per formance when you’re out and about, plus R for the track.
So there we were on the track putting the modes to the test and, for once, I had every confidence this car would not let me down.
It is the latest generation of the Civic Type R with the 2.0- litre VTEC turbo- charged engine which has been boosted by 10 to 320PS. Switch it on and just listen to the soundtrack.
It comes in two specs. The standard spec gives you masses of features such as forward collision warning, traff ic sign recognition, lane keep assist, lane departure warning and, of course, sat nav.
It looks amazing – it always has done – and the rear spoiler now sits above a triple exhaust system which is both practical and elegant.
The new air intakes and little air f licks create even better stabi lity and the big sportylooking one on the bonnet is practical too. David McDonald, UK project leader, explained: “Honda engines tend to be quite hot so we need to keep them cooled.
“At the rear, we have vortex generators which force the air over the spoiler for more efficiency.”
He added conspiratorial ly: “At the factory we cal l them chocolate boxes.”
Certainly there is more than a little black magic to this new offering from Honda which will be delivered globally from its factory in Swindon.
Japan has already ordered 2200 and the US – home of the muscle car – wants 6000. Europe has ordered 3700, of which 2500 are for the UK.
It’s a bit like an election. The people have spoken and they want a Honda Civic Type R.