The hottest Honda Civic Type R will be sold using a lottery in Australia.
Just 20 examples of the Civic Type R Limited Edition are coming to Australia, 19 of which will be offered to customers for $70,000 drive-away.
Honda Australia will initially keep one example for promotional purposes, complete with an AUS-001 serial number.
The company has received more than 700 expressions of interest for the Limited Edition.
The lottery will be open between October 1 and 31, and would-be buyers will need to contact their preferred Honda dealership to enter.
If you’re in the Melbourne Metro area and can’t contact a dealership because of COVID-19 restrictions, you can also enter by calling the Honda Australia contact centre.
The 19 names drawn in the lottery will be required to put down a $5000 deposit when they’re drawn, with deliveries expected to take place between April and June 2021.
“With an extremely small number of Civic Type R Limited Editions available for our market, we wanted to present an equal opportunity for all customers keen to purchase one of these cars, irrespective of their location, dealership access or internet connection,” said Stephen Collins, Honda Australia director.
“In Canada, where 100 vehicles from the global production run of 1,020 units were available, the total allocation sold out in just four minutes after the online reservation process opened.
“We believe the lottery competition will give all Type R fans in Australia an equal chance to purchase one of these special models, while building the suspense in the way only a lottery draw can.”
Compared to the regular Civic Type R, the Limited Edition rides on 20-inch BBS forged alloy wheels, which help shave 10kg from the car’s kerb weight. They’re wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres.
The new rolling stock works with a revised steering setup, and reworked dampers that evaluate road conditions faster for “better handling response and ride quality”.
All 20 examples of the Limited Edition will be finished in Sunlight Yellow II paint with contrasting gloss black highlights.
Honda’s updated Civic Type R touches down October 1 with freshened styling, mechanical upgrades, and a price tag $3000 higher than before.
Priced at $54,990 before on-road costs, the freshened Type R picks up a few extras, including Honda’s new LogR data-logging software and smartphone application.
Other additions to the 2020 Type R include an Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel and Active Sound Control, which enhances the car’s sound in Sport and R+ modes but subdues it in Comfort.
Tweaks have been made to the Type R’s mechanicals, including a retuned Adaptive Damper System that is claimed to evaluate road conditions ten times faster than before.
There are stiffer rear bushings for improved cornering, plus stiffer bushings and lower-friction ball joints up front for sharper steering.
Braking has been improved via the introduction of new two-piece floating front brake discs and new brake pads that use a more fade-resistant material.
There’s a revised grille, which has the added benefit of improving engine cooling due to its larger size. The fog light surrounds and front air dam have also been modestly tweaked, as has the rear bumper.
A new addition to the Type R’s palette is Racing Blue, which joins the carryover range of colours.
There are more tweaks inside, including a restyled shifter and the updated 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system introduced to the rest of the Civic range earlier this year. It adds hard keys and a volume control knob.
