Discover 5 fun facts about modeling

The Honda Civic turned 50 on July 11. It wasn’t the brand’s first car, but it’s certainly the most important. When it was launched in 1972, it was a small and economical hatchback, which arrived at the right time due to the fuel crisis.

Over time, the Civic grew, becoming a midsize car with the Fit taking over the company’s share. Today it is in its 11th generation, available as a hatchback or sedan. A lot has happened between these 50 years and 11 generations, we separate five curiosities about the example.

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1. It was once manufactured by Mercedes-Benz

Honda sought help from Mercedes-Benz to enter the South African market. The German manufacturer was already traditional there and Honda did not take any risk of stealing luxury car customers.

The first Honda produced in South Africa was the fourth generation Civic, named Ballade. The icing on this partnership cake was the AMG version of the Ballade range, with a more powerful engine, more luxurious interior and sportier tuning. If you want to know more, we did a full article about Mercedes making the Civic.

2. It was once an expected car with high specific power

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Do you remember the Civic VTi with the 160 hp 1.6 engine that was sold in Brazil? This was already a large sports segment and its specific power of 100 hp/l is still good for expected cars. But the Japanese like to save the best for the domestic market, the best was the Type-R.

The first Honda Civic Type-R had a more powerful version of this 1.6 engine, which produced an incredible 185 hp. 115.6 hp/l of specific power, surpassed only by another car from the brand, the roadster S2000.

Another interesting data from the Type-R is that the red line of the tachometer started at 8,400 rpm and the cut was made at 9,000 rpm. For those who think this is not enough, the producer Sports Spoon made a racing version of this 1.6 engine that reached 11,000 rpm

3. Civic had the most record-setting version in terms of economy

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In the North American market, the Civic was already positioned as a tough and economical car, but Honda decided to go further. The fifth generation debuted in 1992 and featured a VX version just above the entry-level CX model, for those who preferred to get more out of every drop of petrol.

This version was only available as a hatch and had a feather weight of only 950 kg. The Civic VX had 13-inch wheels made of high-light aluminum, shod with 165/70 tires and its 1.5 16v engine featured the VTEC-E system, an economy-oriented version of Honda’s traditional command.

The power of 93 hp was less than the other 1.5 16v, but it was still more powerful than the 8-valve engine in the entry-level DX. The VX engine can run a bit slow and the VTEC-E only opens one intake valve below 2,500 rpm.

Regarding consumption, the data officially released by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was 20.4 km/l in the urban cycle, 23.4 km/l in the highway cycle and a combined average of 21.7 km/l. But it is important to remember that this method is different from the one we use, especially due to the urban circuit having fewer stations and faster routes than ours.

The next generation also had a VX version, only this time in a coupe. The treatment was the same: it included an aerodynamic package to reduce drag, alloy wheels and a more powerful VETC-E engine. New to help with economy and comfort was the optional CVT transmission, the first used on the Civic.

4. Some Civil Societies Were Not Civil Societies

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The eighth generation of Honda Civic was a water model. It grew in length and width, but what marked it was style: clean lines, narrow front lights and short rear lights made it very elegant and inside there was an innovative panel in two floors.

In Europe, Honda’s flagship car was the hatchback body of the Civic. In this generation, the manufacturer preferred to reduce the cost with the hatch and make it on the Fit platform, without the original independent rear suspension from the first generation.

The advantage of the Fit platform was the fuel tank under the driver’s seat, which allows better use of the interior space. The Civic hatchback featured the Magic Seat rear seating system. But fans still preferred the previous models, although the hatch had a 201 hp Type-R version.

The next generation of the Civic hatch continued to be built on the Fit platform, keeping the torsion shaft at the back. Europe also received a station wagon version built on that platform. It was only in the tenth generation that the entire line was reunited into just one platform, with the hatchback having an independent rear suspension.

5. And some cars from other brands were Civic

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Acura is the luxury division of Honda, focused on North America. Canadians have more preferences than Americans and, therefore, had a luxury version of the Civic. The first was the Acura EL, which lasted two generations.

Then came the CSX, based on the eighth generation Civic. This Canadian-made design, with larger headlights, was adopted by Honda of Japan in the Civic sold there. While the EL featured the same engine as the top-of-the-line Civic, the CSX was only offered with the 2.0 K20 in two versions.

One Tamer was the same as found in the Accord of that time, with 155 hp. The CSX S model, on the other hand, uses a sports version of this engine with 200 hp, it is the same mechanics as the national Civic Si. Its successor, the ILX, was sold in the United States and also used the Civic platform.

British Rover also developed its most luxurious variant of the Honda sedan. The Rover 400 was based on the Domani, a Civic produced for sale by a separate dealer network in Japan.

The Rover 400 had its own style and engines made by the English brand, the only exception being the direct version that came with a 1.6 from Honda. It was successful at launch, but was later outsold by the Volkswagen Passat and the Renault Laguna.