Paris Motor Show: Honda Civic Type R Concept Showcased

If you pass off the Civic as just another friendly neighbourhood Honda, wait till you lay your eyes on this one! The Type R, based on the hatchback avatar, was unveiled at the ongoing Paris Motor Show. Draped in a brushed-aluminium wrap, it looks absolutely bonkers! Now, Honda says that the Type R is just a prototype, but expect the production version to look more or less identical to the devilish hatch you see in the pictures here.

The Type R shows off a lot of tweaks to the exterior which have been made to aid aerodynamics. It gets a massive bumper upfront with large air-intakes that has diamond-mesh inserts. There's a carbon fibre splitter too, that goes along well with the skirts and the borderline bonkers 20-inch alloy wheels wrapped in 245-section rubber. To make way for the plus sized wheels, Honda has enlarged the wheel arches as well.

The carbon theme continues at the rear, which can be seen in the diffuser that surrounds the three tailpipes. And, yes, keeping true to the Type R lunacy, there's an oversized rear wing as well. There are little details we absolutely adore, such as the air intake on the bonnet, the little red accents on the bumpers and the central tailpipe and, of course, the bright red Type R Honda badging. 

Honda hasn't dropped clues about powertrains just as yet, but we know the restless boffins at the tuning division will be looking at claiming the Nurburgring record back. The Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport S had dethroned the current Civic Type R to claim the world record for the fastest front-wheel drive hatch, and we are sure that ruffled a few feathers at Honda. Expect a 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine (with VTEC, of course) that will pump out close to 350 horses.

The hot hatch has been developed alongside the vanilla versions of the Civic, and will be produced in Honda's UK facility only. The Type R will officially go on sale next year in European markets and, for the first time in history, the US market as well. Will India get one too? The chances look super slim, but we don't mind. Are you listening, Honda India?