Honda Civic Type R Mugen 200 driven
By Dan Read Top Gear Magazine UK



Nearly all of the 20 Type R Mugens have been sold. If you've not yet ordered or don't fancy paying £38,599 for the most banzai Civic ever, then you'll be pleased to know that Honda has now introduced this - the, er, Type R Mugen.

Alright, so this one's the ‘200' edition, as that's how many will be made. It's based on a standard Type R but gets a limited-slip diff and some other Mugen goodies including bumpers and sideskirts, alloys, badges, glossy black door mirrors and the same white paint as the ‘Championship White' edition.

This may seem a little confusing, but the idea goes like this: Honda reckons this Mugen 200 is a platform for tuning. You'll be able to buy a Mugen-approved engine, suspension and bodywork upgrades through Honda dealers, so you can spec it to look visually identical to the 237bhp, tall-winged, real-deal Mugen Type R. However, though you can spice up the 200's power, you can't completely reproduce the faster car's engine, which features bespoke engineering.

Whatever the amount of personalisation you choose to shower on the Mugen 200 (careful or you could spend upwards of £50k), one thing's for sure - you'll love the screaming V-TEC and hard-working diff that gives this car a sort of junior touring car feel. A boggo Type R is a satisfyingly hard-revving thing, but the extra bits on this special edition somehow intensify it further. Just go easy on those options.

On your drive for: £602pcm
Performance: 0-60mph in 6.6secs, max speed 146mph, 31.0mpg
Tech: 1998cc, 4cyl, FWD, 198bhp, 142lb ft, 1267kg, 215g/km CO2