Remembering the Civic Type R...

So, the Civic Type R, one of the most respectable and the most memorable high-performance version of the tuner's favorite car, the Honda Civic. It was one of the best Hondas ever made to capture the mass audience of noise-making boys in their baseball caps, tattoos, piercings, jerseys, and low rider jeans. Punks to you. Anyway, how about tackling down on memory lane of the three Civic Type R's that revolutionized the world as the punk-friendly sports car only punks want to make noise on the neighborhood.

The EK9 tries to redeem itself on the road...

...and on the track

The EK9, the Civic Type R that started it all, became a phenomenon when it came out in Japan since 1997. Even though generations changed, rest assured that the EK9 is still the grandfather of the Civic Type R story. It was based on the 6th generation EK Civic and it draws inspiration from its big brother, the legendary Integra Type R. It has a B16B VTEC engine that produces 185HP of power and the chassis was made of monocoque for enhanced rigidity. On the inside, you might expect red Recaro sports seats, titanium shift knob, Momo steering wheel, and other Type R essentials that joyriders loved. The EK9 Type R is still, by far most, the best Type R ever built because those young punks in their baseball hats and their breath smells like cigarettes. If Yosi Kadiri was a driver, this is what he's driving...

Whoa! British Type R gone crazy at Suzuka!

The EP3 Civic Type R is a different kind of Civic Type R. It was first introduced in the United Kingdom since 2001, where it was manufactured in Swindon, England. Swindon...That's where former Doctor Who actress Billie Piper lived... (heh) Anyway, even though the EP3 Type R was made and sold in Britain, Japan imported this and retained some of the EK9 essentials such as the Limited Slip Differential and the red Recaro seats. It now uses the K20A 2.0L DOHC i-VTEC engine that produces 212HP of power and it comes with different intake manifold, exhaust manifold, higher-lift camshafts, higher-compression pistons, chrome-moly flywheel and ECU programming.

The EP3 Type R gained much praise from the motoring journalists in Britain. It won HOT HATCH OF THE YEAR awards more the once from Top gear, Fifth Gear, and What Car?

In 2004, an updated version was released and it comes with revised power steering, improved suspension, halogen headlamps, lighter clutch, flywheel assembly, and so on. It was made to address the criticisms include understeer on the limit, numb steering, and lack of low end torque.

FD2 crosses through the Honda headquarters...

This is the last Civic Type R in its existence in Japan, the FD2 Civic Type R. This was launched in 2007 as a 4-door sedan only for the first time while the hatchback version, the FN2, was sold only in Europe but later launched in Japan since 2009 as the Civic Type R Euro. It still has the K20A engine that became sacred to Honda fans everywhere but this time, 222HP of power, more than the Type R Euro we tried from a rival video game. The suspension is heavily tweaked, handling is hydraulic, modest aerodynamics, superb chassis, and this FD2 Type R is much more agile than the European FN2. It will go 0-60mph in under 6 seconds and it will go on up to 160mph. Really? The speedo reads up to 180kph like what most Japanese cars have.

Most car enthusiasts like to find out the 0-100kph time of Japanese cars but the Japanese car culture don't care about 0-100kph time, power to weight, top speed and so on. They'll only focused more on CVTs, fuel economy, JC08, 10-15 Mode, safety features, blah blah blah blah blah. All Japanese cars have speedos that read up to 180kph and that's it. About the Civic Type R, this is becoming more of a punk favorite. Joyriders stole them, villains use them as getaway cars, and insurance charged them with premiums. The Civic Type R is more of a high speed safety hazard or rather an invitation to break the law. The Civic Type R is a car made for criminals and some say, this is a nuisance to the neighborhood because of the extremely loud noise coming out from the Civic's muffler, like what most Honda sports cars do all the time.

Whatever, at least the Civic Type R is dead now and as told, the 9th generation Civic is not available in Japan. Yep, the Honda Civic is dead. CIVIC IS DEAD.