The Honda Civic Type R is making a stand for front-wheel-drive sports hatchbacks, and the competition can’t do anything about it.
The latest generation Type R – the FK8 – is already the most aggressive and highest performing production Civic ever made. With its numerous vents, sharp lines, carbon fiber aerodynamic surfaces, AND huge spoiler, the Type R is undeniably sporty. Some even say too sporty.
But for Mugen Motorsports, the Civic Type R is not sporty enough. The performance and racing company, founded by Hirotoshi Honda has made several body kits for Civic and Civic Type R models in the past. Their latest creation, however, is bolder and rowdier than ever.
The Mugen RC20GT is basically a redesign of the front and rear end fabricated out of carbon fiber. The kit bolts onto a stock Type R, leaving performance untouched but adding additional flare.
There are also a new hood, spoiler, exhaust and all the vents the car can take. Last but not insignificant are the decals applied on the side of the vehicle.
The Mugen Type R first appeared at Japanese car shows last week. It has been stirring up mixed opinions with both proponents and skeptics of the vehicle in the West ever since.
The skeptics were already saying that the stock Civic Type R looks too sporty for the car that it is. If anything, Mugen’s extreme body kit is reinforcing the “boy racer” tag and doesn’t really help convince opponents of the car’s value.
And while some fans are undoubtedly screaming their lungs out in delight, even Honda fans think that Mugen’s design is too much.
The predominant opinion is that the front grille looks too much like an Audi, only worse. The inner lip doesn’t seem to have any apparent purpose, other than making the grill different enough to mitigate copyright issues.
Still, the Japanese market has always had a taste for this type of aesthetic. We assume the audience who saw the car in person had a much more positive reaction.
Also, Mugen hasn’t announced whether they are going to move from concept to an actual product and if so, what markets they will be targeting.