Pretend for a minute that you're a racing car driver with your own team. You love Honda, and the Type R TCR is looking like it would be a near-perfect car to campaign this season, but the only problem is that it's $172,000 plus spares, and while you've got enough money to race, your app didn't sell for that much money.

Fear not, because Honda Performance Development (aka HPD, aka Honda's in-house racing division) has a solution for you which it announced on Thursday, and it slots in neatly between the Civic Si TCA race car and the Civic Type R TCR. It's called the Civic Type R TC, and it's not cheap at $89,900, but it's a lot of race car for the money.

"The successes of Honda Racing Development's TCA Civic Si and TCR Type R in North American touring car championship series have generated a strong interest in more ready-to-race Honda Touring Cars for North America," said Ted Klaus, president of Honda Performance Development, in a statement. "With the introduction of the new Type R TC-class race car, we now offer a complete lineup of turn-key, Civic-based race cars for registered racing customers in North America."

What exactly does the omission of that last R mean for prospective buyers? To start, the engine is the same as the one in the production Civic Type R. Unlike the TCR's engine, which is calibrated and sealed by JAS Motorsport, this baby is right off the production line. Power levels are comparable give or take 10 horsepower, so this is more of a class rules and/or reliability issue.

Next, the TC forgoes the TCR's fancy X-Trac sequential gearbox and instead uses a production six-speed manual that's got HPD-strengthened third and fourth gears and a Cusco limited-slip differential. There's no paddle shifters or anything, so in the Type R TC, you'll be rowing your own gears.

The chassis of the TC gets all kinds of HPD performance bracing and a roll cage but lacks the TCR's high-zoot Ohlins suspension. With that, you do sacrifice some of the adjustability that comes with such pricey suspenders, but there's still plenty to tweak, thanks to adjustable control arms, sway bars, camber/caster plates and more. You're also giving up forged wheels for cast ones.

The TC gets factory power steering and a factory steering column that tilts and telescopes, but you lose the production steering wheel, and in its place, you get an OMP unit with a quick release, because race car. Brakes are Brembo units with two-piece rotors up front, stock units at the rear, and you also get an HPD-tuned ABS unit and cooling ducts.

Now, before you get all excited, the Type R TC is only available to eligible Honda Racing Line customers, meaning that not just any geek off the street can turn up and buy one with plans to drive it away down the 405 freeway.

With the Civic Type R TC, you'll be eligible to participate in the SCCA's T2 class, NASA's (no, not that NASA) ST5 and E2 classes and SRO's Touring Car Americas TC class. Not bad for a race car that costs M3-with-a-few-options money.

One of the common laments among modern-day car enthusiasts is that the companies that still offer manual transmissions on cars only put them on the stripped-out versions or otherwise compromised performance cars. For example, the current-generation Honda Civic Hatchback was only offered with a manual in either the meagerly equipped Sport hatchback or the pricey and powerful Type R. The 2020 Honda Civic rectifies this by adding a manual transmission option to the decked-out Sport Touring hatchback. Finally, you can have every comfort feature offered on the Civic while still shifting for yourself. But it’s important to note that it’s not the best value in the lineup – more on that in a minute.

Let’s quickly go over the manual Civic hatchback experience before getting deep into trim specifics. Under the hood is a turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder making 180 horsepower and 180 pound-feet of torque. It pulls strongly, and still has a smooth, Honda hum, but the turbo can be sluggish to spool up. It can provide a fun, old-school rush of power when the boost fully hits, but can also be frustrating when you want the power the second you hit the throttle.

The six-speed manual coupled to it has a light, tight feel, that’s second only to the super snickety Si and Type R gearboxes. The Civic hatchback has quick, accurate steering that’s light. Body roll and understeer are mild, and the chassis feels solid and composed with a smooth, gentle ride. Honda should consider adding more sound insulation, though, since the Civic has more road and wind noise than many of its competitors. Making up for the noisy cabin is its cavernous size; tall and large people will be very comfortable whether they’re up front or in the back. Firward visibility is great with the thin pillars and low dash, but thick rear pillars hamper the rear view. Though some cars may outperform the Civic in one specific area, none of them do as many things well as the Civic hatchback.

Starting with such a strong base, the Sport Touring enhances the experience with its list of comfort and convenience features. Both front seats are power adjustable, while both rows get leather upholstery and heating, the latter of which is uncommon for back seats in the segment. Climate control is upgraded from single-zone to automatic dual-zone, and the infotainment now includes satellite navigation in addition to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Plus, there’s a sunroof, automatic headlights, heated side mirrors, LaneWatch right-side blind-spot camera, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, rain-sensing wipers and a 12-speaker, 540-watt sound system. All this comes standard for $28,980, making it the most expensive hatchback trim this side of the Type R.

This is all well and good, but there are a couple of issues. First is that none of these features really make the Civic Sport Touring feel $5,300 more expensive than the regular Sport. From the outside, the two are identical except for the Sport Touring’s LED headlights and mirrors with turn signals. It’s not a bad look, as both trims are athletic and aggressive looking, but the Sport Touring doesn’t improve the looks significantly over the Sport.

It’s the same case inside. The Sport Touring does have leather and some nice features, but the entire dashboard, instruments and infotainment are again carryover from the much cheaper models. It’s a plasticky, but stylish enough and well-built, which would be fine at the low- to mid-$20,000 price point. But this is a nearly $30,000 car, and it’s certainly not as nice as the plusher, slightly cheaper (but also slightly more cramped) Mazda3 Premium Hatchback. Some splashes of metal or leather – even leatherette – trim somewhere on the dash would have made a significant difference. The infotainment in particular used to be a distinguishing factor, since the regular Sport lacked the touchscreen and, more importantly, its Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Considering that the Sport now has the touchscreen and even the same instrument panel screen, the Sport Touring is less special.

The Sport Touring also has a number of features you can’t get on any other manual-transmission Civic, such as navigation, leather upholstery, power seat adjustment, rain-sensing wipers, mirror-mounted turn signals and an auto-dimming rear view mirror. And it’s certainly the way to go if you want a well-equipped manual Civic hatch.

But if you don’t need the hatch, the Si makes for a better deal. It includes other key features from the Sport Touring, such as an upgraded sound system (10 speakers and 480 watts), a sunroof, heated front seats, automatic LED headlights, heated mirrors, dual-zone automatic climate control and LaneWatch. It adds some Si exclusive features such as a more powerful engine with 205 horsepower and 192 pound-feet of torque, electronically adjustable shocks, a mechanical limited-slip differential, and nicely bolstered sport seats. And you get all this for $3,050 less than the Sport Touring.

On the whole, we’re glad that the Civic Sport Touring hatchback now offers a manual. There are people who want an extremely well-rounded machine that’s, practical, economical, comfortable and doesn’t scrimp on amenities, while still being fun to drive and offering a manual transmission. But if you don’t have to have all the comfort features, or can make do without the hatchback shape, the Sport and Si are better values.

The Type R is the ultimate Civic from a performance standpoint, and now Honda has created an ultimate version of the ultimate Civic: the 2021 Honda Civic Type R Limited Edition. It's an uninspired name for an eye-popping limited-edition car, only 600 of which will come to America.

The immediately obvious change to the car is the Phoenix Yellow paint scheme that's exclusive to the Limited Edition. It's matched with a black roof, mirror caps and hood scoop, plus some dark chrome badging. Also noticeable are a set of forged 20-inch BBS wheels, the brand having been selected since it has produced wheels for the NSX and S2000.

These wheels aren't just for style, though, they're part of a diet on which Honda put the Limited Edition. They save a total of 18 pounds over the standard wheels. On top of that, Honda removed sound deadening from all around the car including the roof, dashboard and spare tire cover. The rear wiper, cargo cover and rear heater ducts are also removed. It all adds up to an extra 28 pounds removed from the body. In total, the Limited Edition weighs just under 69 pounds less than the standard Type R. In Europe, the Limited Edition will come standard without air conditioning or an infotainment system for a total weight savings of just under 104 pounds.

Both air conditioning and infotainment remain standard on the U.S. model, as does the full range of Honda Sensing safety features such as automatic emergency braking and adaptive cruise control. And like the 2020 Civic Type R, it gets the new LogR data-logging system. Besides weight savings, the Limited Edition gets slightly retuned shocks and steering.

While these changes are relatively mild, Honda says that the Civic Type R Limited Edition is notably quicker than the regular Type R. We asked one of Honda's technical consultants and the Civic Type R's project leader, and neither of them would give specific numbers yet. They did say that Honda will bring the Limited Edition car to the Nurburgring for testing. They also mentioned that the testing would mostly be to see how much faster it is than the regular car, not necessarily to set a new record. Still, if a record is set, they'll be happy to talk about that.

The Type R Limited Edition will be available this summer. There is no special way to order one, so consider talking to your local dealer sooner than later to try and secure one. Pricing has not yet been set, and it will probably be announced closer to the on-sale date.

There's finally an option for folks who love the CTR but hate its massive wing.

The 2020 Honda Civic Type R Sport Line speeds into Europe as a mature-looking version of the hot hatch that no longer has a big wing on the rear. Instead, a sizable spoiler takes its place. Before any North American fans get too excited about the prospect of a more subtle CTR, there's some bad news because the company doesn't intend to send that variant across the Atlantic. During the unveiling, the Honda cited the Type R representing ultimate performance in the U.S and customers there generally being younger as some of the reasons for not bringing the car to America.

The Sport Line rides on 19-inch wheels with a dark gray finish and a design with V-shaped spokes. Honda fits Michelin Pilot Sports 4S with softer sidewalls that the regular model, which creates a more supple ride. Extra sound deadening at the rear reduces noise, vibration, and harshness in the cabin.

In addition to swapping out the wing for a spoiler, Honda also adds a gray accent line along the lower edge of the body. The red trim from the standard Civic Type R is gone, too. The hot hatch is available in a new Racing Blue paint color.
The Sport Line doesn't alter the Civic Type R's powertrain. A 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder makes 315 horsepower (235 kilowatts) for the European market, rather than 306 hp (228 kW) in the United States, and 295 pound-feet (400 Newton-meters) of torque. The only gearbox option is a six-speed manual.