Having been in production continuously since 1972, the Honda Civic is one of the world’s longest-running car names. The only Japanese cars to be produced for longer are the Toyota Crown (1955) and Toyota Corolla (1966).
The first-generation Civic cost around £1,400 while the current Civic Type R costs around £52,000. That’s about 37 times the original price.
As of 2021, the Honda Civic is now in its 11th generation; nearly 40 different models have existed in its lifetime.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Rover 200 and 400 series cars used the Honda Civic EF platform and were put together at the British Leyland Longbridge plant.
Apart from the hybrid version, between 2010 and 2017, the Honda Civic wasn’t sold in Japan at all.
The Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control (VTEC) system was introduced to the Civic in the late 1980s with the B16A engine in the Civic SiR.
The Civic has acted as the platform for many other Honda models, including 4WD options like the Shuttle and CR-V. There’s also the original CRX and its successor, the two-seater CR-X, known in Europe as the Civic Del Sol.
The first Civic to wear the legendary Type R badge was the 1997 Civic Type R EK9. This was only sold in Japan, but, understandably, has been popular on the grey import market. It’s now a motoring icon that’s highly sought-after by collectors.
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The Civic Type R FK2 was produced for just two years (2015–2017), but it marked an important milestone with its 2.0-litre turbocharged engine. This car ushered in the forced induction era for the Type R badge.
The curb weight of the original 1972 Civic hatchback was around 750kg. Today’s base model hatchback weighs around 1,400kg.
To date, over 18 million Honda Civics have been sold around the world. In the UK alone, nearly 44,000 Civic Type Rs have been registered since 2001.
The 2001 Civic Type R EP3 was the first Type R available from UK dealers and was built in Swindon. The higher-specced JDM version (which was available in the traditional Championship White) was also built in Swindon before being shipped to Japan for sale. Ironically, nowadays these are sought-after imports on the UK market.
In the 1970s, Honda developed a Civic pickup truck for the North American market. Over three generations, they were remarkably popular and sold right up to 1987.
The third-generation Civic Type R came along in 2007, but the JDM and international versions were completely different cars. The JDM FD2 was a four-door saloon built in Suzuka, while the UK FN2 was a three-door hatchback built in Swindon. Even though it was bigger, the JDM version was much quicker.
