Car News

North America's First Civic Type-R to Take On Focus RS, Golf R with 340 Horsepower

2015 Honda Civic Type-R pictured

Honda's getting ready to give North America its first taste of the super-quick Civic Type-R, and the latest details suggest Volkswagen's Golf R, the Ford Focus RS and Subaru WRX STI should be looking over their shoulders.

Set to make its concept debut at the Paris auto show this fall, the latest Type-R is said to boast 340 hp from its 2.0L turbocharged engine. That's certainly enough juice to allow the car to keep up with the current crop of sport compacts, but the one thing apparently not included in the package is all-wheel drive. If you want our opinion, putting that much power through the front wheels alone is somewhat less than ideal.

That said, as the UK's Auto Express says, that would make the Type-R the world's most powerful front-driver, a title that's certainly worth something.

Auto Express says the production version will likely wear toned-down styling based on the look of the 10th-generation Civic that went on sale here last year. When it reaches the marketplace, it will be joined by a standard-tune hatchback model, the first Civic of that kind since the 2000 model year.

The Type-R will begin production next year, in Swindon, England.