Mugen Civic Type R news - Mugen Civic Type R is here - 2009

Last week we blogged about the Mugen Civic Type R, a harder, faster edition of the already distinctly hard-and-fast hot hatch from Honda's almost-official tuning brand.

Then, though, we'd only seen the Japanese saloon version. But here's the Brit-bound Type R hatch, and it looks every bit as mental as we'd hoped.

Check out that giant rear wing and those mortar-like exhausts. The Type R has always been a pretty mad thing - hell, the standard Civic is barmy enough - but this takes things to a whole new level.

As we thought, power will be around 240bhp from a tuned-up version of the Type R's naturally aspirated 2.0-litre engine.

OK, that's still well short of Ford Focus RS territory, but the Mugen Type R is much closer in spirit to the stripped-out Megane R26.R - the rear seats have been removed while the front seats have been replaced by full Recaro buckets. Expect plenty of carbon fibre trim, too.

Tougher brakes, stiffer springs and stickier tyres mean improved handling... and the very real possibility of fusing all your vertebrae together over a bumpy road.

We don't know exactly how many Mugen Type Rs will reach the UK, but don't expect it to top 50 or so. Prices are expected to start at £35,000 and spiral rapidly northward from there.

Just one question: how the hell do you see out the back? 

Now watch Clarkson drive Honda's blistering manga rocketship from hell: