Honda Civic Type R TC racing car heads to the track

Honda has unveiled a new racing car that is aimed at amateur Touring Car competition. The vehicle is the Honda Civic Type R TC, and it is a full factory-built racing car that is available to Honda Racing Line customers who have a racing license. If qualified to purchase the vehicle, it is offered exclusively via Honda Performance Development for $89,900.

The car is designed specifically for TC-class competition and is a modified version of the production Civic Type R meant exclusively for track use. The final assembly of the car is compiled at Gradient Racing in Austin, Texas. The car starts as a body in white at the Honda Swindon, England plant, and uses the road and track tested 2.0-liter VTEC Turbo engine supplied by the Honda engine plant in Ohio.

Depending on the series application, the engine develops between 270 and 330 horsepower. The vehicle has the stock sheet metals with racing components added. Modifications include a high-flow front grille, a vented FRP hood, CSF-designed radiator, and oil cooler, HPD/Borla downpipe, and a turbo-back exhaust.

Sending power to the wheels is a 6-speed manual transmission with high-strength 3rd and 4th gear. A HPD/Cusco limited-slip diff is added along with HPD Girodisc 2-piece front brake rotors and HPD brake inlet ducts. The car has a bolt-in FIA 16-gallon fuel cell, a welded multi-point racing cage, and an OMP racing set with 6-point harnesses.

The suspension is HPD/Bilstein inverted double adjustable dampers and Eibach race springs. Much of the car is directly from the production Civic Type R. An AIM MXP 1.2 data logger is integrated with an optional Motec C125 data logger.