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Honda Civic Type R on track to smash 'Ring record, eclipse NSX

Honda has made some serious performance machinery over the course of its history, but few products have been as hotly anticipated as the upcoming new Civic Type R. Following a deep and proud history of Type R Hondas, the latest Japanese hot hatch is continuing its long striptease at the Paris Motor Show this week. But before it does, Honda has released this video clip featuring project leader Suehiro Hasshi - and he has some bold claims to make.
For one, he says it'll be the best Type R yet - and that's quite a statement considering some of its predecessors, including the almighty NSX Type R. Hasshi-san also reiterates Honda's aim of snatching the front-drive lap record at the Nürburgring away from the likes of Renault and Seat, and reports that the Honda team is on track to chew every bit it's biting off. In short, the new Civic Type R ought to be sensational.

Honda takes us through 50 years of automobiles in 60 seconds

Honda's wonderfully simple, fun ads are not in short supply right now. We showed you Hands, the followup to 2003's The Cog, last week. If you haven't had a chance to look at those two great videos, we strongly encourage you to head over that way and give them a watch.
The latest minute-long commercial is a bit more dear, though. And while it may be in Japanese, it's still a cool look back at Honda and its car-building history.
This is also a great video if you're a fan of odd, vintage Japanese vehicles. Honda's T360 and a few old Civics are featured heavily, although we can't help but notice that a few very big names are missing. Where's the NSX or the S2000? How about the original Insight, a car so revolutionary it still has a cult following today? Honda has made some great cars, we just wish it'd show off more of them. Check out the video below.

Honda Civic Type-R caught out in the cold

The Honda Civic Type R already has an award winning ad campaign, and the concept keeps showing up at auto shows around the world. What the model doesn't possess yet are firm production specs, and as these latest spy shots show, Honda is still doing cold weather testing in Sweden on its future hot hatch. The striking thing about this test car is just how similar it is to an earlier version wearing no camouflage at all. Both sport a toned down body kit compared to the concepts. The obfuscation makes the exact lines on this latest prototype hard to spot, but the two models appear practically identical. Although, at the rear, the taillights might now be slightly reshaped, compared to earlier. As of the 2014 Paris Motor Show, the Civic Type R was scheduled for a 2015 release in Europe. In concept form, it sported a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder making 276 horsepower and routed power to the front wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox. Adaptive dampers and a system called "steer axis" to reduce torque steer were promised to get the grunt to the ground effectively. The company even had a goal of making the new hatch the world's fastest front-wheel drive vehicle around the Nurburgring Nordschleife, too. Rumor has it, this potent mill might even cross the Atlantic for a Honda product in the US. Until then, check out the gallery to see the latest shots of what the Type R has in store for Europe at some point in 2015.