The team at Honda's Swindon plant has come up with the brand's second pickup truck. It's just a concept, but the Civic Type R Pickup looks like the hottest new Ute around.
The Civic Truck R was designed and built by one of Honda's product engineering teams, working out of the company's Swindon, UK, plant. That's the home of the Civic hatchbacks that are sold here, including the Type R.
The team took a pre-production Type R hatchback and dropped the rear seats, and most of the roof, to create what they called the Project P concept. Instead of those rear seats, there is a cargo area, like you'd expect from a pickup. Only this one won't hold that 4x8-sheet of plywood.
It uses the 306 hp 2.0L turbo four, manual transmission, and the same suspension as the stock R. That means 0-100 km/h in under six seconds, although top speed probably drops a bit. It also still drives like a Civic Type R, which means it can haul its own spares to a track day, then haul butt on the circuit. And yes, it has the Type R's massive rear wing, designed to move out of the way and allow access to the cargo area.
Honda isn't planning to build this one, it's to show off the special projects team and let them stretch their skills. But Honda's Swindon plant will be using the prototype to transport their lawn and garden products around the plant. They're also considering a trip to the Nurburgring to take a shot at the fastest front-drive pickup title.