Rather bold Civic engineering

Honda has shown off a utilitarian vision based on its Civic Type R – the Civic Type R pickup truck concept.

Developed from the standard road car, it could be one of the fastest pickup trucks on UK roads, claims Honda.

Alyn James, powertrain product development manager, said: “We have a special projects division at the factory in Swindon and this project was a fantastic opportunity for the team to show just what their creative minds could do.

“The passion that our engineers have for Honda is shown in our latest creation, and we are even considering taking it to the Nurburgring to see if we can take the record for the fastest front-wheel-drive pickup truck!”

The concept was created using a pre-production Civic Type R, with the rear seats and boot area transformed into a flat load bed.

However, it uses the same powertrain as the regular Civic Type R, which means performance is still remarkably brisk.

Honda claims that it can do the sprint from 0-60mph in under six seconds and should hit a top speed of 165mph. It also has selectable driving modes, giving whomever is behind the wheel the option of Comfort, Sport and +R modes – with each tailoring the car’s ride comfort and throttle response to different circumstances.

However, although the concept is impressive, Honda has no plans to put the truck into production as of yet.