Honda Civic Enters FIA World Touring Car Championship

Honda today announced that the Honda Civic will race in the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC).

“We have made a decision” said Honda CEO, Takanobu Ito “to enter into the WTCC with the European Civic. We will develop a totally new engine for this project and we are all excited about starting this new challenge.”

For this project, Honda has formed a joint partnership with Mugen and J.A.S. Motorsport. Honda R&D is developing a bespoke racing engine, while Mugen will manufacture and maintain it. J.A.S. Motorsport will develop the race car, using the new Honda Civic 5 door produced in Honda’s manufacturing plant located in Swindon (UK).

The racing engine is a 1.6 litre 4 cylinder direct injection turbo-charged petrol engine, developed in accordance with FIA’s Super 2000 regulations.

Honda’s ambition is to join the WTCC as early as this season, with a string of “inaugural rounds”. Discussions are currently being held with the FIA, but these rounds would include Japan (held on 21 October 2012 at Honda’s Suzuka circuit), followed by China and Macau. Honda will then enter a two car team, managed by J.A.S. Motorsport, into every race in the 2013 championship season.

This activity is being run independently to the Honda Racing British Touring Car Championship winning team. Three-times BTCC Champion, Matt Neal and Gordon ‘Flash’ Shedden will be behind the wheel of the race-prepared Team Dynamics version of the new Civic and lining up on the grid at Brands Hatch on 1 April for the first race of the 2012 season.

Racing has always been a fundamental element of Honda’s DNA. In the late 1950s Honda first entered the Isle of man T.T and then Formula 1 in the 1960s. The FIA WTCC is the next chapter in Honda’s on-going commitment to world motor sport and provides a perfect platform to demonstrate its racing spirit to Honda’s numerous fans around the world.

Related Articles

No Constraints: A Hakosuka Build Inspired By A Lack Of Restrictions

Photography by Trevor Jolin (@trevorjolinphoto) As an automotive designer, Jose Gonzalez is a man who is used to meeting client demands for cars. “...

Hot Hatch Meets Cold Climate: Peter Deira's 1984 Volkswagen Rabbit GTI

Photography by Reflex As car enthusiasts living in seasonal climates know, salted roads can wreak havoc on older cars. This is the case for...

Unitronic Cold Air Intake System for 1.4TSI

Unitronic’s Cold Air Intake System for the Volkswagen Jetta 1.4 TSI EA211 engine is a direct bolt-on performance upgrade that is engineered to...

Energy Suspension 2006-2011 Honda Civic Steering Rack Bushing

Replace just the rack bushing, not the complete steering assembly to save hundreds of dollars! Our longer lasting Hyper-Flex polyurethane steering...

Mobile Toys Inc's "Signature Build" 2015 Rolls-Royce Ghost

This Signature Build was a first for Mobile Toys Inc. (MTI) and their crew really stepped it up on this 2015 Rolls-Royce Ghost! “Our client came...

Compustar PRO T12 Remote Start and Security

The Compustar PRO T12 is the industry's most powerful and premium solution for vehicle remote start and security. Equipped with industry-leading 3-...