Honda Civic Type R MUGEN 2.2 : Hot hatchbacks of the world BEWARE!

Once in a while when a luxury car announces that they are going to launch a hand crafted uber luxury car, the automobile world takes a notice. But how often do you hear about a hand-built performance hatchback? Never is the answer, until last year when Honda launched the limited edition Honda Civic Type R MUGEN. Just 20 cars were made. These race derived cars disguised as regular road cars went on sale in the UK for enthusiasts to make the most of. 

After the car was ready the technicians at MUGEN Euro needed something to do, so they took the K20 2.0 liter engine and increased the cylinder bore and stroke which upped the engine size to 2.2 litres. The new engine is 30% more powerful than the K20 unit with a power output of 256 horsepower on tap. The car also gets a host of motorsport derived components such as bigger brakes, sports suspension and a bodykit which makes it stand out on the road. The new car is called Honda Civic Type R MUGEN 2.2 and it is the ultimate expression of the Honda Civic Type R philosophy. 

The K20 was a high revving highly successful engine which has been around since the foundation of MUGEN in 2006 and has been the choice of many tuners and motorsport competitors. The engine was homologated as a Group N race series engine and is one of the finest naturally aspirated race engines around. 

The Civic Type R MUGEN2.2 has been created as a tribute to the Honda K20 2.0 litre petrol engine of which 400 race and rally competitors have stormed the world. Honda’s K20 engine has made it under the hood of two road cars, The Honda Civic MUGEN RR in Japan and the Honda Civic Type R MUGEN in the UK.

Hiro Toyoda, vice-president of MUGEN Euro, commented: “Environmental pressures mean naturally aspirated engines are rapidly being superseded by other engine architectures and technologies. We may never see the like of the K20 in a mainstream production car again, so felt it only fitting we mark the occasion with this special 2.2 version of the Honda Civic Type R”.

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The Honda Civic Type R MUGEN 2.2 production run is yet to be finalised. Honda may upgrade four of the MUGEN Type R Civics that were not sold from the limited 20 cars. The car could be offered with the 2.2 litre engine along with suspension and brake upgrades. Owners of the limited edition Honda Civic Type R MUGEN could be invited to return their cars for an upgrade consisting of the new components.