Honda Civic Type R Mugen (2010) CAR review

The Honda Civic Type R Mugen is going into production. Yes, it might have been the worst kept secret in the world, but now Honda and Mugen have officially announced that they will produce a limited number of tuned and tweaked Euro-spec Civic Type Rs for the UK.

Just 20 will be made, each will cost £38,599, and if you tick the right option boxes you can make sure your car is exactly like the original Mugen concept. CAR has just driven the pre-production version of the Honda Civic Type R Mugen, so read on to find out how it differs from the concept.

£38,599 is a lot of money – presumably for that much cash the production Honda Civic Type R Mugen will be identical to the concept car?

Not quite. The limited run guarantees exclusivity and goes someway to justifying the pricetag, but you don’t get everything that was on the concept. So while there are engine, suspension, brake and aero tweaks, you have to pay extra for lightweight body panels and the stripped-out interior.

Will there be enough people in the UK ready to cough up the cash? Mugen is certain there will be – when it released 300 Japanese-spec Civic RRs in its home country all of them were sold in just 6 minutes. And if UK buyers don’t snap up this new car, then Mugen knows there are plenty of customers in Europe who will be happy to have one.

>> Click 'Next' for CAR's first drive review of the new Honda Civic Type R Mugen