British-Built Type R Exported to Japan

SLOUGH, UNITED KINGDOM – November 6, 2009: Sales of the Swindon-built, 3-door Civic Type R have begun in Japan, after the first cars were shipped from Southampton last month.

The demand for the UK-produced car in Honda’s domestic market is a real feather in the cap for workers at Honda’s Swindon factory – the only production facility in the world that builds the Civic Type R 3-door.

The decision to sell the European-built Civic in Japan follows on from introductions in Australia and South Africa earlier this year. The 3 and 5-door Civic body styles were originally conceived as Europe only models, but the combination of a 201PS i-VTEC engine, tenacious grip and radical styling has seen a flood of requests from Honda fans across the globe.

The export of the Type R model marks the second time since 2001 that the European-built Civic has been sold in the Japanese home market. Just 2,010 of these Milano Red, Alabaster Silver or Championship White machines, will be available to Honda enthusiasts in Japan.

The Swindon factory that produces the Type R also produces the rest of the Civic 3 and 5-door range as well as the CR-V SUV. This autumn, the state of the art factory commenced production of the popular Jazz model to cope with increased demand from European markets