While most regional markets have enjoyed some kind of Type R goodness over the years, our friends in the USA have consistently been denied the ol' Red H - which is slightly puzzling, considering the sheer number of Honda fanboys that seem to reside in that country. That may change in the near future though, as Honda North America is reportedly evaluating several JDM-only models for export to the Land of the Free.
The impetus behind Honda's desire to expand their US range has been booming sales of the thrifty Fit compact hatch, which has endeared itself to a huge range of buyers. From cost-conscious grandparents to the aforementioned fanboys, it appears the Fit's blend of utility, economy and small-car zippiness has indicated to Honda the future lies in smaller, lighter and more efficient vehicles - which can be found in abundance in the automaker's Japanese line-up.
So, that means cars like the Freed, Stream wagon and the much prettier JDM version of the Odyssey could all be finding their way Stateside soon, but what about the hard-core FD2 Civic Type R
? The argument could be made that the US-spec Civic Si already fills that niche, but the JDM FD2 still holds the upper hand over its American cousin in a number of areas. Firstly the K20A in the CTR boasts a 19kW power advantage over the Si's K20Z3 while torque in the JDM car is 27Nm higher than the US Civic.
The CTR's suspension is also harder than the Si's, its Brembo brakes stronger AND it looks totally boss in Championship White. Of course, this may just be wishful thinking on our part but we sure hope Honda decides to finally treat their US customers to some of that exclusive, red-carpeted Type R awesomeness, and soon.
[Source: Bloomberg.com, via Japan Car Blog]
[Images courtesy of Honda]
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