2000 Honda Civic Type R – Auction Car of the Week

Matthew McConaughey, Vera Wang, Burberry, the Honda Civic. What do all of these have in common? Give up? They all completely reinvented themselves.

McConaughey ditched the hackneyed romcoms of the 2000s and went on to turn in some of the best performances ever captured on film. From figure skater to Vogue editor to global fashion icon, Vera Wang revolutionized the bridal industry before expanding her brand into other markets. Then there’s Burberry, the fashion house that went from a rather dreary clothing company to a world leader in luxury goods. And the humble Civic? Here was a car that fooled us all by eventually becoming renowned as a performance icon after beginning life in 1972 as a pretty basic and economical runabout.

Honda really did give us the old switcheroo and nobody back in the ’70s could have dreamt that this compact little Japanese car would morph not only into a hot hatch icon, but also a proper driver’s car.

For fans of naturally aspirated, high-revving four cylinders, the original Honda Civic Type R is up there with the best of the best. Right up there. But what made it so bloody good? Well, when you combine 185bhp (at a lofty 8,200rpm) with two vastly different cam profiles – allowing for both low speed, every day pootling and full-bore, light your pants on fire track day shenanigans – along with a limited slip differential and five-speed close ratio manual gearbox, all in a car that tips the scales at a gnat’s wing over 1,000kg, well, that right there is a recipe for success ladies and gentlemen.

Beautifully balanced to boot, the original EK9 Civic is arguably the ultimate incarnation of the Type R. Honda really did get it right first time with this one. Despite all of its performance credentials however, the Type R still retained that practicality inherent in those early models and the fact that it doesn’t go overboard with the sporty aesthetics only adds to the car’s appeal. Subtlety is the operative word here, and it really does work in the EK9’s favour.

Making its debut on the sixth-gen Civic platform (now onto the eleventh and still being produced today) and using the EK4 Civic SiR as a base, the EK9 Type R (with R standing for ‘Racing’) broke cover in ’97, but only in Japan, making it a true JDM legend and a bit of a rarity outside of its native country. Famous for its VTEC electronically controlled variable valve timing – developed in-house by Honda – whereby the engine switches cam lobes to allow the intake valves to open further, thereby boosting performance from 6,000rpm, the original Civic Type R is an absolute hoot to drive. On paper that translates as a 0-60mph dash of six-and-a-bit seconds and a top speed of 140mph, but it’s on track where the Type R truly shines.

Discounting the stripped out ‘motorsport’ version that arrived in ’98, the EK9 received one major update over the course of its three year production run with the introduction of the ‘RX’ in ’99. With this facelift the car received a few additional features including remote locking and a CD player, aluminium pedals and body-coloured electric mirrors. All in all just over 16,000 EK9s were built (all for the Japanese market), with 9,205 of them being the RX model.

And that’s exactly what we have available via our auction platform – a 2000 Honda Civic Type R EK9 RX Edition. Finished in Championship White with those classic bright red Recaros the car has spent most of its life on the salt-free roads of Japan, arriving here in the UK in 2016. Undersealed since and having been kept in storage in recent years which has preserved its condition, this Type R remains a tidy example with good bodywork and a well kept interior.

The car also benefits from a couple of tasteful upgrades in the form a Mugen intake and twin loop exhaust system, making it just that little bit more spicy. A quick look at the car’s MOT history shows a few minor issues but worry ye not, these will all be resolved prior to sale and the car will come with a full year’s ticket for peace of mind. There’s also a large history file included, too, with extensive paperwork. And yes, the personalised plate is staying with the car.

One of Honda’s most exciting models (and incredibly rare to boot) the point and squirt EK9 Civic Type R is rightly revered by many a petrolhead. Whether you’re a JDM fan boy or simply appreciate damn good cars you owe it to yourself to bid on this beauty. Trust us, you won’t regret it. As soon as you downshift into that first corner and clip the apex before flooring it to the sound of that VTEC engine screaming in your ear as the cam profile changes, you’ll be hooked.