Mugen Type R Officially Bound for U.K.

NORTHAMPTON, England — We heard back in July that Mugen was developing a new Honda Civic Type R, although it was not known if the vehicle would get the green light for production. The well-known Honda tuner recently confirmed a limited run of only 20 units for the modified Civic — with a hefty price tag attached.

Mugen Euro Company will hand-build up to 20 cars at its Northampton factory. The K20A 2.0-liter i-VTEC engine is rated at 237 horsepower thanks to its new pistons, camshafts, intake manifold, airbox, stainless-steel exhaust system and remapped ECU. Torque is also boosted by 10 percent throughout the entire rev range. Handling is upgraded with a completely revised suspension setup that works with a limited-slip diff, while stopping power is improved with four-piston mono-block brake calipers.

The most significant exterior addition is the Championship White paint job and large rear wing, but other changes include new forged alloy wheels, front and rear bumpers, side skirts and a front grille decorated with the Mugen emblem. For circuit use, buyers can opt for the Track Pack with Recaro front seats, water and oil temperature gauges, data recording equipment, track-ready tires and the removal of the rear seats to cut weight.

"When our engineers aren't building customer engines, they are at circuits with top-level race and rally teams helping to manage and prepare race engines. We are very proud to bring our motorsport experience to the road with this high-performance Honda engine, the very first time that a Mugen-tuned engine has ever been offered for use on the road in the U.K.," said Hiroki Toyoda, vice president of Mugen Euro.

Mugen will charge the equivalent of $58,000 for the vehicle, and justifies the price by saying that it would "typically charge around [$248,000] plus VAT for a full racing Type R, with the engine costing about 10 percent of this price." Check out the Type R's dedicated Web site for more details.

Inside Line says: Another hot Euro hatch that has little to no chance of ever making it across the pond. — Mike Lysaght, Correspondent