Now if your average Juan de la Cruz knows a thing or two about souping up his Civic, then trust Honda to come out with its own version.  Enter the Civic Type R, R for Racing of course!

This Type R designation began with the Honda Integra.  Sitting on bright red Recaro sport seats and grasping a titanium gearknob, you could propel your Integra Type R from zip to 100 km/h in 6.9 seconds.  It gained a reputation as being the best-handling front-wheel drive car in the world.  Last year, the Accord Type R came out in Europe, with a 212-bhp version of the 2.2 liter VTEC engine.  Ads for the Accord Type R featured Damon Hill roaring home in a passion-orange blur.  The Civic Type R came out somewhere in between with less fanfare that its siblings.

Perhaps the character of the Type Rs can be gleaned from which bodyshell Honda chose for the model.  The Integra Type R is a coupe, appropriate given its superb handling and highly-tossable chassis.  The Accord is a roomy four-door sedan, highlighting its comfortable and practical nature despite the eager engine and precise suspension lurking underneath.  As an Ultra-Low Emissions vehicle, it's an eco-friendly supercar. The Civic Type R is a hatchback.  With its compact dimensions and very little rear overhang, the Civic is indeed the speed freak in a family of racers.  

What's a SiR? The Civic Type-R can thrash that pretender to the ultimate Civic throne. This car has actually been reduced in weight to put its powerful engine to good use (too bad, it isn't available here, huh?)