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TOKYO – Honda Motor Co. has announced the all-new Civic Type R and a petrol-electric hybrid version of the Honda Civic will go on display at the 35th Annual Tokyo Motor Show from 26 October.

The company will begin selling the all-new Civic Type R – the first Honda to be produced in England by Honda of the U.K. Manufacturing (H.U.M.) for export to Japan – on 6 December.

The circuit-bred Civic Type R is equipped with a powerful 158kW 2.0-litre DOHC i-VTEC engine with improved aspirating efficiency and a 6-speed, close ratio manual transmission. In true Type R style, the new Civic also has a full list of race equipment, including aeroform bumpers, Recaro front bucket seats, a MOMO genuine-leather 3-spoke steering wheel, and a dash-mounted aluminum shift knob for the 6-speed manual transmission.

The Civic Type R powerplant combines VTEC, which adjusts intake/exhaust valve timing and lift at high engine speeds, and VTC (Variable Timing Control), to continuously vary the intake valve timing phase in accordance with engine load. The result is a maximum 158kW of power and 202Nm torque. It also has a short intake manifold with equal-length ducts to minimize the effect of intake gas inertia at high engine speeds. Exhaust gas backpressure is reduced through the use of a dual exhaust manifold, large-diameter piping, and high-volume mufflers.

The six-speed transmission is designed with synchro-mesh cones in all gears (triple cones in 1st and 2nd; double cones in 3rd to 6th) to ensure reduced shift load and a short shift-stroke to speed up gear changes. The new Type R has an ultra-light, forged chrome-molybdenum steel flywheel with 26 per cent lower inertial mass than the one used in the previous model, delivering more sensitive engine response and sharper acceleration.

A torque-responsive, helical, limited-slip differential improves front-wheel grip.

The Civic Type R body is built for strength and durability - it uses high tensile-strength steel in approximately 60 per cent of its structural frame members. As a result, the body has 20 per cent higher bending and 80 per cent higher torsional static rigidity than the previous Type R.

Honda has designed the Civic Type R with toe-control link strut suspension in the front and reactive-link double-wishbone suspension in the rear, and VGR (variable gear ratio) and EPS (electric power steering) for sharp steering performance.

The front brakes feature 16-inch ventilated disks, with master power assembly, piston configuration and bands tuned for responsiveness with a minimum of brake pressure.

Despite its uncompromising sports performance, the Civic Type R has been recognised by the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport as an ultra-low emissions vehicle, surpassing Ministry regulations for exhaust emissions by more than 50 per cent.

The Civic Hybrid – also due to go on sale in Japan in December – is equipped with a more advanced and efficient version of Honda IMA (Integrated Motor Assist) System, all within the comfortable and practical packaging of a Civic four-door body.

IMA is a unique system first introduced in the world’s most efficient petrol-powered production vehicle, the Honda Insight. The Civic Hybrid’s IMA system combines a highly efficient 1.3-litre i-DSI engine with an ultra thin electric motor to help the Civic Hybrid achieve world-class fuel economy of 3.41 litres per 100km – the highest in the world for a 5-seater petrol-powered production vehicle.

The petrol engine produces 63kW of power and 119 Nm of torque, while the electric motor generates 10kW power and 49Nm torque. Combined with the Honda Multimatic S continuously variable automatic transmission, the new IMA technology helps the Civic Hybrid achieve Ultra Low-Emissions Vehicle status according to standards set by the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

The Civic Hybrid’s state-of-the-art 1.3-litre i-DSI engine incorporates lean-burn combustion technology, along with the VTEC Cylinder Cut-off System that adapts Honda’s VTEC variable valve control technology to significantly increase the amount of electrical energy recovered during deceleration.

The 1.3-litre i-DSI engine’s configuration of two spark plugs per cylinder allows the fuel-air mixture to be made even leaner, for improved fuel economy.

The rocker arms that open and close the intake and exhaust valves are configured for dual operation in either valve-lift mode or idle mode. Normally, they are engaged via a synchronizing piston. During deceleration, the synchro piston is positioned inside the idle-mode rocker arm, disengaging the lift-mode rocker arm so that the valve remains at rest, effectively sealing off the cylinder. Three of the four cylinders can be shut down, achieving 50 per cent lower engine friction during deceleration than the present IMA System.

The Civic Hybrid is also equipped with a high-density, 900-cell three-stage catalytic converter and a lean burn-compatible absorption-type NOx catalytic converter.

The Civic Hybrid’s petrol engine is the main power source, and is assisted by an electric motor as the need arises. During acceleration and other times of heavy engine load, the motor assist system contributes considerable torque, resulting in both lower fuel consumption and powerful acceleration. At cruising speeds, when engine load is lower, the motor assist system shuts down.

During deceleration, the motor converts the dissipated energy into electricity, called regenerative braking. The newly developed VTEC Cylinder Cut-off System reduces engine friction during deceleration – formerly a problem with regenerative braking – greatly improving the vehicle's electrical regenerative efficiency.

When the vehicle comes to a stop, the engine shuts off automatically, then restarts immediately when the driver steps on the accelerator pedal. This automatic idle-stop system contributes to both greater fuel efficiency and lower emissions.

Other technological advances provide increases in both motor assist system performance and Power Control Unit (PCU) efficiency.

The motor assist system combines an ultra-thin DC brushless motor, a nickel metal hydride battery, and a Power Control Unit (PCU). The new system employs a higher-output motor, a more efficient battery, and a lighter, more compact PCU, resulting in greater packaging freedom.

Improvements to the internal magnetic coils of the ultra-thin DC brushless motor – which boasts the world's highest output density and practical efficiency – achieve 30 per cent greater assisting and regenerative torque than the previous model – without an increase in size.

A sintering diffusion bonding process is used to firmly fuse different metals together, allowing the most appropriate materials to be used in construction of the rotor to meet the different demand criteria for its inner section, which transmits torque, and for its outer section, which is in contact with the magnetic coils. Strengthening the section that transmits the torque and increasing the magnetic-flux density results in higher torque output.

The inverter and the pre-driver have been combined, reducing the weight of the PCU by around 30 per cent, and its volume by around 40 per cent, compared to Insight.

The efficiency of the battery modules has been increased, resulting in reduced energy loss. The battery's storage box and peripheral equipment have been made more compact, for an approximate 30 per cent reduction in volume.

The lighter, more compact, more efficient PCU and battery have been integrated into a single Intelligent Power Unit (IPU) that can be stored behind the rear seat of a passenger sedan. Integrating the IPU allows the two cooling circuits previously used to be combined into one. Total volume of the PCU and battery has been reduced by around 50 per cent. The compact packaging also means the Civic Hybrid has a low, flat floor.

The Civic Hybrid also maintains Honda high safety standards with G-CON (G-force Control), which means it can withstand a 55km/h full-frontal collision, a 64km/h front offset collision, 55km/h side collision, and a 50km/h rear collision.

To further improve safety in real-world collisions, Honda has implemented its own vehicle-to-vehicle collision testing program with its own independently-established standards. This collision testing is much more demanding than conventional tests in which the car is crashed into a fixed barrier. The Civic Hybrid’s safety design meets Honda’s own stringent testing requirements.

The Global Compact Platform’s versatile packaging allows high-voltage electronic equipment to be isolated in a single location, away from the passenger compartment. This, coupled with a warning system that detects electrical faults, ensures a high level of safety to guard against electrical shocks, even in the event of a collision.

Honda Motor Co plans to release the new Civic Hybrid for sale in Japan in mid-December.