No, this isn’t one of Khyzyl Saleem’s imaginative renders – it’s an actual real thing. Honda UK’s latest unveiling is a 316hp Civic Type R pickup.
Before you get too excited, you won’t be able to buy one – this is a one-off concept model, dubbed ‘Project P’, built by Synchro Motorsport, Honda’s own voluntary race team at their UK factory in Swindon.
Up front it’s a stock FK8 CTR, complete with four-cylinder turbocharged powerplant, but rearwards of the b-pillars it’s all custom, with the rear half of the roof removed to make way for a custom flatbed. It’ll hold two Honda lawn mowers, just in case you were wondering.
The team behind the build were also instrumental in the original development of the road car, ensuring that structural rigidity wasn’t compromised too much in lopping off the back half. It’s quite impressive that they retained the opening tailgate and rear spoiler too, and the profile of the car doesn’t look half bad as a two-door.
While our Australasian friends love a ‘ute’, over here in Europe they only really seem to make an appearance as oddball prototypes or one-offs. Most notably, BMW have been the brains behind some of the most bizarre prototype performance pickups in recent memory, although their experiments have been mostly for practical reasons. Take, for example, this weird E30 cabriolet-turned-ute. It was built by BMW Motorsport in Garching, Germany to serve as an on-site workhorse, carrying parts about and so forth. While it originally was fitted with a 2.0-litre, 192hp engine, it was later swapped with a 2.3-litre four-pot with 200hp.
The E30 was in service in Garching for some 26 years until it was retired and replaced with its younger brother…
Also serving as a workshop mule, this E92 was another cabriolet pre-conversion and took over from the E30 in 2011. Brilliantly, BMW used the project as part of an elaborate April Fools’ prank, ensuring that spy shots were captured of it ‘testing’ at the Nürburgring. They even went as far as to distribute a press release about the new model. Is it just me that kinda wishes it was true?
Honda are now talking about taking their new prototype Civic Type R to the Nürburgring themselves, but rather than trolling the press and members of the public, there’s talk of them using it to try and set a new record for ‘fastest front-wheel drive pickup’.
Are there even any other entries for that title?
Jordan Butters
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It'll have to take on the almighty VW Caddy!
Shouldn't be err, too hard to beat
You know, I'm never going to hear "Caddy" without immediately thinking Cadillac.
Good point – how did I forget the Caddy!?
The Skoda Fabia Fun is the real hero
Lo I can dig it. Does it weigh less than a regular model?
Honda haven't released figures, but I'm guessing only marginally. Especially when you're carrying a couple of mowers around
I know when I crash into the bushes at the 'Ring I like to have a few on deck to mow my way back on track.
Is it just me, or do Europeans do everything they can to avoid the American pickup truck? Then again, utes are always cool so I guess it's a moot point.
They are wider than most 2 lanes over here. That ontop of their terrible fuel consumption, we have no need - we have vans!
Oh, really?
Seems the same statement is true of Lamborghinis, and nobody ever complains about their width being a problem in London or Paris.
I think people who can afford lambgorhinis care less about practicailty than joe bloggs your local diy man. That said, literally EVERYONE complains about their supercars size over here! That along with how much of a pain they are to get in and out of!
They literally don't fit in England.
It's just not convenient here. We have higher gas price than over there, high taxes for big engine, and small roads. Well, not everywhere, but in most European countries.
Would serve as a rad rig for an avid SpeedHunter, eh?
It would be kinda cool for shooting rolling/tracking shots from, providing you could move the rear spoiler out of the way!
Speaking of shooting cars, what very happened to the civic /golf mk1 with km4sh gear?
I believe it was canned sadly.
Oh, just saw it off.
Looks like a Swedish EPA Tractor lol
How about a Proton Satria GTI pickup? Oh wait.... Proton already built that though you wouldn't want to crash in it (watch the ANCAP crash test on You Tube. 1 star rating, ouch).
They could've at least filled in the rest of the rear flares....
I thought it was a parade lap car for the podium drivers to stand in with the umbrella girls waving at the crowd after the race. lol. Lawnmowers. Wasn't expecting that. Is this a weird product placement ad
"The team behind the build were also instrumental in the original development of the road car, ensuring that structural rigidity wasn’t compromised too much in lopping off the back half. "
This makes me question the entire rigidity design of the car from the start if you can remove/modify that much without dipping into performance lol.
You’ll notice they also added a half cage, essentially replacing the structure of the roof.
Of course this is the same chassis that lapped the Ring in under 8 minutes and is the current production FWD record holder, so it’s hardly a wobbly pile of metal.
Best Civic ever, hands down!
Diamond plate looks best on steps, but always ends up in pick up conversions :/
Yeah, REDNECK pickup conversations...not like there’s any other kind.
Toyota just needs to hurry up and acquire Honda before those birdbrains completely eradicate its brand equity.
It’s clear now that Honda will never recapture it’s golden years. Inept, corporate, vampire-pigs have bled it completely dry.
The downfall of Honda is the worst the industry has ever seen. Yes, Honda made great cars but its true accomplishment was gaining worldwide respect for its products.
They truly don’t deserve ANY respect now.
I’m not sure where your anger stems from, but the FK8 is widely regarded as one of the best performance FWD platforms in recent years. Then there’s the NSX too. Honda gets a bad rap sometimes but I don’t think it’s justified.
With all do respect, (and I do mean that) it stems from being an owner of some of the best and purest cars they created. Cars that defined their identity. Anyone who’s old enough to remember, knows how Honda completely changed (and improved) the automotive landscape. It was legendary and due to cars that were unique and distinctly HONDA products. They simply weren’t like other cars.
The best qualities of the new vehicles comes from their developments in improved NVH. Admittedly, the chassis are more robust, but they’ve lost every ounce of soul. Aesthetics is subjective, but contemporary Honda’s are objectively over-styled, tacky and far from timeless.
If Honda produced these flatulent, overindulgent barges to begin with...they’d never have the type of diehard following that’s carried them for decades. Ask General Motors.
If enthusiasts loved, respected and coveted the new NSX...couldn’t Honda actually SELL THEM?.?.?
Don’t be fooled by the Type R. After dealer markups, its price point is among some pretty tough contenders.
Truth be told, the Type R was just a desperate attempt to cash in on their old, revered cache...without building a devoted car to begin with.
Why else would they cripple the standard cars with a garbage suspension setup?
Why would they only offer it in America AFTER their massive recall debacle?
They’re not giving enthusiasts what they want. They’re giving the MASSES a device to balance the books.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to be a Honda fanboy again...but the people running the company are shamelessly destroying it. Frankly, what they’re doing is whoring out a legacy.
I'm not sure your experience is unique to Honda. The positive nostalgia associated with performance Hondas of the 80s/90s and even 00s applies to many other marques too – Audi/VW/Nissan/Toyota, etc. All cars were better back then if you're from a certain generation, as they're the cars we grew up coveting and aspiring to own. Alongside that, all manufacturers have had to streamline and change the direction of their products to survive. Honda simply couldn't have 3 or 4 stripped down lightweight and track-focused models any more as they aren't making enough profit from the rest of their range to prop them up, and the same goes for the rest too – that's why Toyota don't have a raft of exciting performance cars now either. Instead, we have cars like the modern Type R, which has to offer performance to match the badge, but also needs to appeal to a wider audience too. I'm not disagreeing with you by the way – the last exciting and pure car Honda designed was the S2000 in my eyes, but it was VERY niche even in its age, and it would tank if they build the same car again now.
Toyota is the opposite of Honda at this point. While Honda’s reputation amongst enthusiasts and lineup is degrading...Toyota’s is on the upswing (Lexus, etc). Indeed, they used to be more courageous with turbo Supras and mid-engined, MR2s...but those models were actually niche for them. Honda, on the other hand, always made sedans that could dance and Mighty Mouse economy cars. They never shied away from incorporating sportiness into ALL their offerings.
NOW, things have changed. In their relentless pursuit of market share, they’ve clouded their vision. That’s why there’s been so many failures lately (RSX, Insight, hastily redesigned Civic, NSX).
They’ve also made serial errors that handicap their platforms. For example, even though the last-generation Integra was a great car, it should’nt have been a hatchback (for chassis rigidity). That was a small, surmountable issue, but their blind spots got bigger. The S2000 should’ve been offered as a hardtop and/or with a V6 (Honda HPD even developed one), but it wasn’t. The RSX shouldn’t have become a charicature of the Integra, but it did. The new NSX should’ve been more minimalist and driver-focused, but it isn’t.
Not to mention, with the exception of the overrated, Civic Type R, they’ve never adequately marketed their performance-oriented models. Whereas, domestic brands will sell the hell out of their stamped trash!
Lastly, they’ve lost the “Power of Dreams”. People don’t typically identify Hondas as “aspirational” cars, but they are. That’s why they should’ve built a Type R on a high-quality, lightweight (uh, two-door) foundation. That way, just like in the past, people who buy the lower-spec cars ASPIRE to own a Type R. The NSX should’ve been a legitimate heir to the original so enthusiasts ASPIRED to own one. As it stands now, enthusiasts (who can and can’t afford one) simply don’t desire it. In their dreams, they pit it against the competition and it loses every time...whether it be styling, performance, or the development narrative.
In the past, Honda perfectly married engineering and design to build magnificent vehicles. Evident by the current offerings, there’s now discord within those ranks. Both design and engineering have become marginalized in the pursuit of profit. To compare, despite being a smaller company with fewer resources, Mazda built a terrific ND Miata! The styling hasn’t suffered, the engineering is world-class and the WEIGHT is remarkably close to the original.
I suppose we’ve all got till doomsday to hear all of Honda’s excuses.
The truth is, they had their own renaissance within their grasp, but they just can’t do anything right.
If they didn’t make the CRZ a hybrid and gave it a K-Series and a decent suspension...instant street cred. Not to mention, $ALES.
The Fit is closer to the Hondas of old than ANYTHING else they’re offering, but they gave it a pathetic drivetrain and (again) lousy suspension setup.
They do nothing but self-sabotage and claim enthusiast cars don’t sell!
Imagine all the rationalizations they’ll have for not risking going down the performance route again after the failure of the NSX.
Yet, it’s completely their fault for being inept, out-of-touch, greedy, idiots.
The current Civic Type R is literally the ugliest machine Honda has ever made, and I'm including bikes, lawnmowers and ATVs in that statement.
But this bastard little El Camino is actually pretty cool.
this is so wrong.
Honda R the best car in the world
it literally looks like they had a few pints and got the buzz saw out..............1/10
whattt. i saw someone take a picture of this like a week ago, s
weeeeeeeeeeeet