Civic Type R Mugen For Europe Only Priced at £38,599

The short story here is that Honda Europe will be making a run of only 20 Civic Type R Mugen that will crank out 240HP, have a huge wing, and will set you back £38,599 or the equivalent of $64,000 U.S. Now, I'm sure the Civic Type R Mugen is a very impressive car, but £38,599/$64,000? Seriously? Do you know what else you cold buy for that much?

OK, granted, I don't live in London, but a cursory search on Craig's List came up with the following:

1995 FERRARI F355 TUBI ..ONLY 11 K MILES..LIKE NEW....ALL BOOKS,SPOTLESS - $60975

1985 Ferrari Testarossa - Only 36k Miles - $61900

f-355 ferrari 1995 gts Sonoma Auto Sales - $59995

1999 Ferrari F355F1 Spyder - $60000

982 Ferrari 308 GTSi - Red/Tan - $22000

And that was just the Ferrari listings ... sprinkled in there was stuff like

2007 Mercedes-Benz C-Class C230 Sport - $23995

2007 Ford Mustang Shelby GT-500 - Almost 600HP! - $54999

2002 Porsche 911 TURBO - $44950

2003 Rouch Racing Oval Track ex-NASCAR - $45000

2004 Mercedes CL500 * BLACK ON BLACK * Fully Loaded * Super Clean !!! - $23999

LOTUS ESPRIT TURBO - $19500

MASERATI SPYDER - $33900

So what does Honda think is so special about this Civic that they can ask £38,599/$64,000 for it?

For starters, the Type R has thoroughly reworked by Mugen Type R's 2.0-liter i-VTEC four-cylinder engine with a modified intake system, new pistons, a reprogrammed ECU and a custom stainless steel exhaust system and airbox. The bottom line for the plant is a 20 percent power increase from 200HP up to 240HP at a respectably high 8,300 rpm; 300 revs more than the stock engine. There's also a 10 percent boost in torque throughout the rev range, with peak torque up, from 142 lb-ft at 5,600rpm to 157 lb-ft at 6,250rpm.

The factory says the Mugen Civic Type R will do zero to 62mph in 6.0 seconds and top out at 150mph.

All that power gets to the tarmac via a six-speed manual gearbox and a limited slip diff, and they say the grip and handling are "significantly improved" because of a completely revised suspension set-up, with custom-made springs and dampers.

Hauling it all down to zero is accomplished with a set of made to order four-piston mono-block racing brake calipers that sit under high-density, lightweight forged alloy wheels.

On the outside, there's a Mugen-prepped aerodynamic kit consisting of a large (OK, huge) wing out the back they promise increases downforce at high-speeds. There's also new front and rear skirts made out of composite materials. A flashy new grille can be seen along with the large twin tail pipes to complete the exterior package. All cars will be painted the traditional racing color of the brand: Championship White.

If you want, you can opt for a 'Track Pack' that gets you front Recaro bucket seats, disposes of the rear bench and replaces it with a composite blanking panel fitted, water and oil temperature/pressure gauges, data recording equipment, and a set of track-ready road-legal tires.

"Each Type R MUGEN will be an exclusive, hand-built race car for the road," "When we launched the Civic Type RR saloon in Japan, we sold out of all 300 units in just six minutes. Given the interest we have already had from car enthusiasts in the UK and abroad, we hope to repeat that achievement," according to said Hiroki Toyoda, Vice President of MUGEN EURO.

Yes, yes ... that's all very nice ... but that's still a lot of money.

Source: Car Scoop