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2015 Honda Civic Type-R benchmarks the cream of the hot hatch crop

Honda has something wicked up its sleeve, based on the latest batch of spy photos we've received. This is purportedly the next Honda Civic Type-R, out testing in Germany and on the Nürburgring. The last generation of the Type-R went out of production in Europe in 2010, and while we admired it from afar, it's 2.0-liter, four-cylinder produced similar figures to the American-market Honda Civic Si.
From the looks of both it and the cars Honda engineers are benchmarking, the next Type-R will be much more powerful. In the spy photos, we can see four meaty exhaust pipes along with what is quite clearly an intercooler hiding behind the rear bumper. That's right, the next Type-R will be turbocharged. It'll need to be, though, if it's meant to tackle cars like the Opel Astra OPC, Ford Focus RS500 and Renault Megane RS Trophy (not pictured, but there according to our spies).
300 horsepower from a 2.0-liter engine should be on offer, and would match the competition quite well. Other obvious tweaks from the ho-hum five-door Civic are mainly aerodynamic. It sports an aggressive body kit with a meaty chin spoiler, rocker panels and a big rear wing. Red Brembo brake calipers can also be seen behind the sporty wheels and low-profile tires.

Car and Driver lists 10Best for 2013, same as it ever was

Forgive us for having the distinct feeling of déjà vu, but it certainly feels like we've been here before. By that we are referring Car and Driver and the announcement of its annual 10Best vehicles for 2013. To be sure, it's an impressive selection of cars that combine heart-pounding performance and frugal sensibilities, but it also represents something of a broken record on the part of C/D. We're not so sure that's a flaw, though, as the resulting list is tough to argue with.
Vehicles like the Ford Mustang, Porsche Boxster, and BMW 3 Series have maintained their high-horsepower spots on this list for several years now. Even on the more practical and nimble end, the Honda Accord, Honda Fit and Mazda Miata have not budged. These continued spots are even in light of redesigns for some vehicles such as the Accord, Boxster and 3 Series.
In fact, the only newcomer to the 10Best list this year are the Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ twins, which knocked out the Cadillac CTS-V. We think it would have been a huge misstep to have excluded the FR-S/BRZ, even in light of the supercharged Caddy's lamentable departure from 10Best.

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.