Honda Civic Type R to Disappear from Europe: Ultimate Edition Final Run Announced
Honda is officially killing Europe’s beloved Honda Civic Type R in January 2026. Tragic, really. The culprit? Euro 6e-bis emissions regulations are strangling anything remotely entertaining. The FL5’s 189g/km CO₂ rating sealed its fate.
The Japanese are pulling it from the market with a special edition called the “Ultimate Edition.” How delightfully final.
Championship White or Nothing
Fancy a colour choice? Tough luck. You get Championship White and you’ll bloody well like it.
Red racing stripes jazz up the bonnet and flanks. Carbon Fibre Everywhere. Honda’s chucked carbon fibre at the rear wing like confetti at a funeral.
Inside, more carbon fibre decorates the door sills and centre console. Red floor mats are what make the Type R a “Type R”. The doors project a Type R logo because subtlety died with the combustion engine, apparently.
European buyers get a farewell gift box. It contains a carbon key ring and a numbered badge. Only 40 lucky souls will own this farewell special Honda Civic Type R. That’s fewer than a boarding school dormitory.
Same Heart, Different Tombstone
The 2.0-litre turbo engine remains unchanged. Still 324 hp. Still 420 Nm of torque. FWD through a proper six-speed manual. A 0 to 100 km/h time of 5.4 seconds remains respectable. A standard helical LSD makes sure you’re not spinning 3 gears and actually gapping that Eco-Boost Mustang before it crashes into the bush.
Why the Death Sentence?
European regulations killed it, naturally. The 2022 FL5 generation couldn’t survive Euro 6e-bis standards. 189 grams of CO₂ per kilometre apparently makes it Public Enemy Number One. How dare it? This marks the end of the Type R’s 28-year European legacy—nearly three decades of hot hatch excellence.
Eye-Watering Prices
Honda won’t reveal pricing. Probably wise, considering current Type R costs. In the Netherlands, a standard Honda Civic Type R already costs $98,041. Before options, mind you. High-emission taxes are murdering hot hatches across Europe. Literally.
Europeans get the hybrid Prelude coupe in 2026. Will it match the Type R’s raw engagement? About as likely as Brexit reversing itself. Meanwhile, the UAE still gets proper Type Rs. After a 12-year hiatus, Emirates enthusiasts can still experience Honda’s engineering prowess.
How civilised. At least some semblance of fun survives somewhere. Just not where it was born.
Conclusion
So there we have it—another casualty in the war against automotive joy. The Honda Civic Type R joins the growing cemetery of brilliant cars killed by bean-counters and bureaucrats. Sure, the planet might thank us later, but right now it feels like watching your favourite pub get turned into a yoga studio. Progress, they call it. We call it depressing. At least those 40 Ultimate Edition owners will have something genuinely special to remember when the electric future arrives. The rest of us? We’ll just have to console ourselves with simulated gear shifts and the memory of what proper hot hatches used to feel like.
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