Mugen Tunes UK-Market FN2 Honda Civic Type R

FOR MANY HONDA FANS, Mugen is the one company that's capable of extracting the best from Honda's hi-po models.

Responsible for many factory-modified creations (and more than a few impressive concept cars), Mugen has by-and-large kept its most desirable vehicles restricted to the Japanese market.

While Mugen tuning parts are available for order across much of the globe, up until now if you wanted a complete Mugen-tuned Honda, living in Japan was pretty much your only hope. Not anymore, though.

The manufacturer has announced that it will be waving its magic wand over the UK-built FN2 Civic Type R, endowing it with the same flavour Mugen has gifted the Japanese-market FD2 Civic Type R with.

In Japan, the FD2 Civic Mugen RR boasts, among other things, a mildly tuned engine, lightweight carbonfibre bodypanels, an alloy bonnet and a wildly styled bodykit. The UK-bound Civic Type R Mugen will most definitely benefit from a lairy bodykit, but as for what lies beneath those oversize spoilers and red paint, we don't know.

If Mugen's past vehicles are anything to go by, power mods will be light (think 179kW) and the most attention will be paid to the suspension, brakes and driveline. But even if performance remains unchanged, buyers of Mugen's latest creation can at least take comfort in the fact that theirs will undoubtedly be the most distinctive Type Rs in all Europe.

An aggressively-vented front bumper with a prominent chin spoiler sits on the Mugen-tuned Civic's nose, flanked by a pair of touring car-style fenders and topped by a vented bonnet.

The rear bumper is also reshaped and the Type R's signature triangular exhaust outlets are replaced by a pair of round tailpipes, while a very large wing hangs off the hatch. Gunmetal alloy rims set off the Type R's red paint well, and the car appears to sit on lowered springs.

The Civic Type R Mugen is expected to go on sale in the UK at the end of this year, with cost estimated to be in the region of £35,000 (AU$72,200). Honda Australia currently has no plans to bring it here.