The new Civic is said to be a much superior base for producing a sporting derivative than the old one and the three-door bodyshell’s chassis is tuned for crisper driving dynamics than the five-door’s

It won’t be on British roads until March 2007, but Honda has already released the first photographs of the new Civic Type-R in production form to tempt potential owners to get their names into the order books. As you can see, it looks only modestly different to the concept car shown in Geneva and London.

Honda makes no apologies for the new CTR having the same 197bhp output as the outgoing model’s 2-litre four, pointing out that the engine’s characteristics are significantly changed. The i-VTEC’s cam shift point has been lowered from 6000 to 5200rpm, although maximum power now occurs at 8000 rather than 7400rpm. A cutesy little touch is that when high-lift, long-duration valve timing is in play, a ‘Type-R’ symbol illuminates in the instrument binnacle.

A new balancer shaft in the engine and drive-by-wire throttle control are said to help refinement and improve throttle response. Claimed performance is the same as the previous CTR’s – top speed of 146mph and 0-62mph in 6.6sec.

The new Civic is said to be a much superior base for producing a sporting derivative than the old one and the three-door bodyshell’s chassis is tuned for crisper driving dynamics than the five-door’s. The Type-R ups the ante further still with steering that features a quicker ratio, stiffer mounting points and meatier valving for the power assistance. The car also sits 15mm lower than the three-door Type-S, the next sportiest model.

Big-bolstered front seats dominate the cabin and CTR fans will be heartened to learn that the new car also features the trademark titanium gearknob. There will be two trim levels, the base CTR featuring air-con, and the GT boasting dual-zone air-con, cruise control and automatic headlights. No firm word on pricing yet, but expect £18-20,000.

European markets – but not Britain – will be able to buy a motorsport homologation special complete with roll-cage and lsd.