Some absolute madman lifted a Honda Civic Type R for overlanding duty
Throw enough money at Ralph Hosier Engineering, and you can have one, too.
The hopped-up Type R variant of the 10th-gen Honda Civic was a likely contender for an aftermarket sweetheart as soon as its boy-racer style hit dealerships. But one company has taken the Civic Type R to the extreme -- and not in a direction anybody would expect.
Honda's UK arm on Thursday unveiled two radical modified Civic Type Rs. The first, a creation by Team Dynamics Motorsport, features a number of performance upgrades that boost output to about 400 horsepower, and it looks a little racier than before. That's all well and good, but it's the creation from Ralph Hosier Engineering that deserves your full attention.
Ralph Hosier Engineering is hard at work creating an off-road Type R. Yes, that's right -- a hardcore street Honda has been rebuilt for the dirt and mud. It's still in the works, but the focal point of the modification is a lift kit that raises the body more than four inches while still retaining parts of the stock suspension geometry somehow. Out back, there's a unique trailing arm and modified transverse links.
In order to actually handle the dirty stuff, this front-wheel-drive pseudo-ute wears a set of 255/55R18 BF Goodrich all-terrain tires, which are wrapped around lightweight wheels with a style derived from rally cars. It's some wild stuff, even if it's still in development.
While these cars are currently one-offs, they don't have to be. Both companies told Honda UK that even though there won't be a production run for either car, they will gladly build copies of their creations for "discerning customers." It'll likely cost an arm and a leg over the Type R's base price, which in the US is a smidge over $35,000, but if you want the most bonkers Type R you can get your hands on, there's a company ready to make it happen.
The fenders look just a bit wider than before. Just a bit.
