PARIS MOTOR SHOW: Civic Type R to eclipse NSX

UPDATED 01/10/2014: Fresh spy shots of the new Civic Type R have emerged overnight from southern Europe, where Honda is benchmarking it on public roads alongside hot hatch rivals including the Mercedes-Benz A 45 AMG, Renault Megane RS and Volkswagen Golf R. The new images confirm the production Type R will indeed wear the huge rear wing seen on the latest concept revealed this week, along with its aggressive front and rear bumpers, side skirts and quad exhaust outlets.

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Honda says its new-generation Civic hot hatch will deliver more performance than any previous Type R model -- including the company's original NSX supercar.

Although it has revealed no new details, Honda says the new Civic Type R – which will appear at this week's Paris motor show in concept form yet again – will be its “most extreme” model yet and the “start of a new performance era”.

Setting the stage for a hot hatch war with the likes of Renault's Megane RS, the Volkswagen Golf R and Ford's upcoming Focus RS, Honda claims its hottest ever Civic "will deliver unmatched performance compared to any previous Type R car... even the NSX".

Although a new-generation NSX super-coupe will raise Honda's performance bar further by 2016, Japan's 1992 NSX Type R was powered by a mid-mounted V6 offering 206kW of power.

Honda has already confirmed its new five-door hot hatch will come with a 206kW 2.0-litre i-VTEC turbocharged four-cylinder engine, making it the brand's first force-fed Type R.

Honda R&D's Large Project Leader for the Civic Type R, Suehiro Hasshi, said that will make it the most formidable Honda ever.

“Honda has had four Type R model derivatives – the Civic, Integra, Accord and NSX.

“The engine in this new Honda Civic Type R is unrivalled against all of them in terms of raw power, torque and engine response.”

Hasshi confirmed new details of the hottest Civic's sharper chassis, which Honda hopes will help make it the fastest front-wheel drive car to lap the Nurburgring, eclipsing the 7:54.36 benchmark set by Renault's hardcore special-edition Megane RS 275 Trophy R, which features weight-saving measures like the removal of its radio and air-conditioning.

He said four-mode adjustable dampers and a new '+R mode' setting, which stiffens the dampers and changes the torque mapping and steering response, will provide Type R drivers with both ride comfort and racetrack-ready handling.

“In default standard mode, the Civic Type R is exceptionally agile, an everyday sports car with an enjoyable and fluid acceleration,” he said.

“The ‘+R’ button brings out a more dynamic and athletic car for the driver, to set pulses racing. The difference in character is immense. The ‘+R’ mode is extreme; the car is ideal for track use and will be appreciated by the genuine sports-driving enthusiast.”

While the variable-damping system echoes that of VW hottest Golf GTIs, the latest Type R will also match the torque steer minimising systems used by both the GTI Performance and Ford's previous Focus RS.

Dubbed 'steer axis', the mechanical system adds two supporting kingpins to the front suspension to quell torque steer.

Honda has also confirmed the sportiest Civic will be manual-only.

“The manual transmission allows the drivers to select the gear they want, for example, down from fifth to third when approaching a corner," he said.

“The concept of the new Civic Type R is to be the complete driver’s car so this was the best option.”

Apart from new blue livery, Honda's latest Civic Type R concept appears almost identical to the Geneva show concept from March. However, as evidenced by spy shots taken at the Nurburgring in August, the production version is expected to be toned down with more subtle front and rear spoilers.

The new Type R will go on sale in Europe early in 2015 but is yet to be confirmed for Australia.

However, Honda Australia is keen to add the hot hatch to its European-sourced five-door Civic line-up, a facelifted version of which is due on sale here in the first half of next year.