New Honda Civic Type R Confirmed, Roadster Coming

Honda has dropped a handful of hot hints on its future product plans this week, confirming a host of new models - including the highly anticipated Civic Type R and a brand-new roadster. 

Details on all models are thin, but Honda CEO Takanobu Ito promised today that his company is working to make the new 'CTR' the "fastest front-wheel-drive vehicle on the Nurburgring race course". 

To make good on this claim, it will have to knock off a lap of the venerable 'Ring in under 8:08 minutes. That's the mark set by the current record for a front-wheel-drive car - Renault's stove-hot Megane RS 265.

And Opel, though slower, is also in the same hunt; it claims its new Astra OPC flagship managed a 8:35 minutes lap.

With the Astra's turbocharged four-cylinder engine churning out a massive 208kW, Honda's Type R team will have its work cut out for it. 

Lauded as one of the finest-handling bum-draggers of all time, and with rumours of a turbocharged engine in the mix, it's a good bet the new CTR won't let fans down. (Except, perhaps, those wearing "NA Is Best" shirts - Ed.)

• Reports and spy photos on the new Civic Type R

Joining the new Civic Type R and upcoming NSX supercar in a holy Honda high-performance trinity will be a new roadster.

The crystal ball is again cloudy, but it is possible that the futuristic and compact EV-STER concept will guide the look of the open-to-the-Heavens Honda. 

Unlike its spiritual predecessor the S2000, the EV-STER is driven by an electric powertrain that promises a 0-100km/h time of 5.0 seconds. 

Whether we'll see this drivetrain  in the final product remains to be seen, but Honda enthusiasts may be looking for the EV-STER's rear-wheel-drive layout to make the cut.