Honda Taking Civic Type R Hot Hatch to Higher Level

Hot-hatch aficionados looking for a certain collectable will have to be quick to get their hands on the U.K.-made Honda Civic Type R, because the automaker will build only 100 copies of the Black Edition.

Far from being a money-maker, the Black Edition has the same £32,300 ($39,400) price tag as the existing Type R GT. For that the lucky owner will get the most powerful engine Honda has installed in a production Civic, with power boosted to 310 hp and torque raised to 295 lb.-ft. (400 Nm).

The existing Type R accelerates to 60 mph (97 km/h) from standstill in just 5.7 seconds, so expect the Black Edition’s 4-hp hike to nick another tenth of a second off the sprint time on the way to a top speed nudging 170 mph (274 km/h).

Unsurprisingly, the cabin features a predominantly black interior with red accents, while the exterior differs from the standard version with red rear-wing endplates on the spoiler.

With production of the Civic Type R at its factory in Swindon now finished, Honda is gearing up to build the next-generation Civic, which goes on sale in March, and the new Civic Type R version, which is expected to hit showrooms in the year’s second half.

“There are only going to be 2,500 of the current Civic Type Rs on U.K. roads, so the car is going to be pretty special as it is,” says Phil Webb, head of cars at Honda U.K. “But with the addition of this special limited run of 100 Black Editions to the product lineup, owners will have a real collector’s piece on their hands.”