The Civic EK9 (6th generation) was the first Civic to receive the Type R badge. Honda’s idea about the car was that it should be a car that is usable everyday and on track. As such, the car featured many race inspired features such as a seam welded chassis, close ratio 5-speed manual transmission and a limited slip differential. That differential was necessary, because the front wheels received 185 horsepower from the 1.6 liter B16B engine with the vehicle only weighing in at 1070 kilogram. The engine produces its maximum power at a 8,400 rpm and is equipped with Honda’s VTEC technology which is working as of 5,800 rpm.
In the interior, a racing atmosphere was created by using red bucket seats, red door cards, a titanium shift knob and a Momo steering wheel. Furthermore, a lot of sound deadening was removed to reduce the weight. Type R logo’s were used around the vehicle, for example on the centre console, on the floor mats and on the side of the car. And a red Honda badge was used on the front and the rear of the vehicle. On the exterior, the difference with a regular Civic were different bumpers, a rear spoiler and lightweight 15″ wheels.
In August 1997 the Type R was introduced and was available in 3 colors, namely Black, Silver and the famous Championship White. In September 1998 there was facelift during which the front bumper and fender slightly changed, as well as the rear lights. In the interior the radio went from 1-DIN to 2-DIN and the panel for the air conditioning was changed.
A more hardcore version was also available, called the Motorsports Base or Race Base version. Air conditioning, radio and power steering were removed, making the vehicle up to 30 kilograms lighter. The 7-spoke aluminium wheels were replaced with steel wheels which made it possible to price the vehicle cheaper than a regular Type R. The purpose of this version was that buyers prepare the vehicle for racing or modify it to their taste.
A more luxurious version of the regular Type R also became available in the end of 1999, listed under the name of Type R ･ X. It featured full automatic air conditioning, electric adjustable mirrors, more advanced radio with CD player and aluminium pedals. The weight was slightly increased to 1090 kilogram. Production of the Type R continued until September 2000.
Special versions of the Civic Type R EK9:
– Spoon EK9: Spoon Sports created several iterations of a Type R EK9. One of the versions focused on motortuning of the original engine which resulted in an engine that produced 200 horsepower at 10,000 rpm. Other Spoon versions of the EK9 Type R included engine swaps with B18C engine and K20A engine.
Click on the picture below to see the Civic Type R details and specifications per year such as weight, new price and equipment for each version in the Goo-net.com catalog.
For the Civic enthusiast the following book might be of interest: