Honda Is Putting a CVT Into The Civic Type R, And No We're Not Joking
Grab your pitchforks, light some medieval torches and head to your nearest Honda dealer, because it looks like they’re about to fit a CVT transmission to the Civic Type R.
Initially reported by the likes of Autocar and Car in their printed editions about a week ago, before being picked up online, interviews with senior Honda/Civic Type R staff have revealed that as well as the standard six-speed manual, the engineers have kicked a dual-clutch option to the kerb in favour of – shock, horror – a CVT.
Not exactly famed for their wondrous driver involvement, you’ll find CVTs in the likes of the Toyota Prius and automatic versions of the Honda Jazz. Hmmmm, now there’s a couple of encouraging signs.
But, in theory at least, CVT transmissions are the most efficient way to get the most power to the wheels, most often. They enable the engine to stay at peak power and/or torque, and that could make them faster pretty much everywhere. Whether we like it or not, that matters to some buyers.
More specifically, it matters to buyers with lots of money to spend. There aren’t many manual gearboxes left in the world of widely-available high-end sports and supercars, because buyers want automatics, either through laziness or a desire for outright speed (at least on paper).
For proof of the CVT’s performance potential, Formula One went so far as to ban the technology over two decades ago, branding it an unfair advantage – and probably too boring to listen to.
Honda is claiming that the system will be optimised for low-end acceleration and could even shave a few seconds off the car’s Nurburgring lap time, suggesting that it’s going after the VW Golf GTI Clubsport S’s new record of 7mins 47.19sec.
That won’t solve the nagging issue of noise, though, and how Honda plans to get around the droning, mooing, God-awful racket CVT-equipped cars create. We’re all ears, Honda.
Comments
Subaru put CVT in Levorg and still put some power in it too. From reviews car seems exciting enough so when you think about buying automatic, why not CVT in first place.
Sakes me sad that companies will do radical things like this just to save a couple seconds on lap times. Honestly who cares!
This is why people rice out mustangs instead of imports. Get it together Honda
…and then GasKings steps in.
*controversy intensifies
AutomaticPocalypse has started : brothers we are in danger !!!
Buying a civic type r with a CVT gearbox would be like buying a football and the asking your mate to kick it for you. Yes he might be technically better at it than you, but it’s boring as all hell not playing yourself.
same for any kind of automatic transmission, if you ask me :S
Confirmed by Honda pro Jason himself that this is just a rumour and Honda will not be adding a cvt manual only
The fact that they are using a CVT in the hope it can go faster, and lap the Nurburgring faster than that Golf GTI Clubsport S, shows this has become too much of a numbers car. I have a feeling that on the road, you won’t be able to use much of its power, and I think the civic has became too big
I get that people are upset about this dission. But a cvt might not be a bad dission.
If you know that some old Volvo’s and DAF cars were build with a system that works the same as cvt. You might also know those cars dit beat almost anything of the line back then. They only dind’t have enough power to go through with that pace. But I think Civic could and although its not the most populair dission for now. This might be not such a bad idea.
In my opion, as long as thay keep the manual and realy use the bennifits of a cvt and not make it ‘shift’. This could be the best of both worlds
Just when you thought 2017 was going to be better than 2016…
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