The new 2012 Honda Civic WTCC
has officially entered its final development stages as the Japanese
carmaker presented the final exterior and began track testing of its FIA
World Touring Car Championship racecar at the Vallelunga circuit, near
Rome, Italy, following the car's ‘shakedown' on July 27 at the Vairano
circuit near the J.A.S. Motorsport factory in Milan.
The Japanese carmaker's WTCC contender is based on the European market Civic hatchback
and features a special aero package with an extended front and rear
skirt and other additional aerodynamic elements such as the large rear
wing.
But what makes this Civic really stand out from its production brethren is the bespoke 1.6-liter 4 cylinder direct injection turbocharged HR-412E petrol engine.
Honda
has not released output numbers nor did it say if it has any plans to
offer a turbocharged engine on its production models in the near future.
However,
during the presentation of the turbocharged unit last week, Daisuke
Horiuchi, WTCC Development Project Leader at Honda R&D said that,
"We believe the innovations that have led to this revolutionary engine
will also lead to benefits beyond the race track, helping us to further
increase the efficiency of our road car engines."
Back
to the racing model, Honda noted that testing would continue throughout
the year with 2009 WTCC champion Gabriele Tarquini sitting behind the
wheel.
"Although I'd
never driven the new Civic before, funnily, when I sat in the seat for
the first time I immediately felt I was in a Honda," said Tarquini.
"The
body work is precise and the engine feels great. But this is just the
first track test, so there is so much more for us to work on. The car
looks beautiful too and will, I'm sure, wow all the WTCC fans around the
world when it makes its debut in Suzuka later this year," he added.
Beginning
at Suzuka in October this year, Honda will enter three races of the
2012 FIA World Touring Car Championship with one car, driven by Tiago
Monteiro, as it prepares for full entry in 2013.
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