Someone far wiser and far more responsible than me once said that dizzyingly high rev limits were a waste of time. In road cars, anyway. Their reasoning was that no one would be foolish and careless enough to regularly take their own car to its redline, so why have 8000rpm or 9000rpm limits? You'd be bonkers to subject your car to such torture.
Well, sir or madam, whoever you were, there are many of us who can't help but use every last rev available, drawn to the redline like moths to a flame. While wailing valve-gear is torture for some, to others it's sweet music.
As one of these self-confessed rev obsessives, today is my lucky day. I'll be let loose with three Type R Hondas. The lowest rev limit between them is 8000rpm. I am giddy with excitement. Awaiting me is the first Honda Civic Type R, the EK9 generation, and the first Integra Type R, the DC2. If it isn't clear yet, fans of Type Rs - like many 1990s Japanese car enthusiasts (me included) - love a nerdy model designation. Why call it a Mk1 when you can display your detailed knowledge by using an obscure chassis or engine code?
Outside my window, to transport me to the other two is a Honda Accord Type R, the CH1. In a world where a normal, innocent Fiesta has a boot spoiler and a modern Civic Type R has so many wings and vents that it looks like a Hollywood Transformer halfway through its metamorphosis, this Accord looks tame. The late-'90s saloon rides high on its 17in Speedline alloy wheels and its not-so-bright-red paint seems to be a leftover from the days when Honda was in bed with Rover: dignified and stately, but not exactly sporty. Its twin exhausts and high spoiler simply don't have the impact to help it live up to its Type R billing.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 2022-Ausgabe von Classic & Sports Car.
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A Breath of Fresh Air- Alfa Romeo's exotic, V8-powered Montreal was like nothing the marque had made before, but can it compare with a Porsche masterpiece, the 911S 2.4?
The stereotype of the ItaloGermanic automotive rivalry is that the Latin car will be brilliant to drive, but poorly built and ergonomically flawed, while the Teutonic will be the opposite. Yet these 2+2 sports coupés both ran against orthodoxy. In the Montreal, Alfa Romeo created an outlandish-looking two-door more comfortable, more powerful and more refined than anything it had produced for decades. Meanwhile, Porsche continued to refine its back-to-front, austere and increasingly aged 911. Neither took a traditional development path, but both created thrilling and individual cars that have echoed through the decades.
Daring to be diminutive
AMC's Gremlin and Pacer, and Ford's much-derided Pinto, led America's response to the threat of imported European compacts
THE LONG WAY ROUND
There is a great tradition of overland trips by Land-Rover, but the tale of this 70s Aussie epic and the car itself was discovered by chance
Handsome cab
The Phantom V limousine marked the beginning of the end for coachbuilder James Young, but this Rolls-Royce represents the craft at its very best
DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES
Racing for their own F1 teams brought some drivers success and an enduring legacy. For others, it turned into a nightmare
20 30 LITRES CYLINDERS, 400BHP......AND MORE THAN A CENTURY OLD
Thunderous torque, flame-spitting stub-exhausts, white-knuckle thrills - and hopefully no spills - aboard a trio of Edwardian racing titans
ICON.
The three top-selling vehicles in the USA in 2023 were pick-ups, topped by the Ford F-Series. This is the truck that started it all
Blurred Lines
lan 'Del' Lines blended the V8 burble of Triumph's open GT with real practicality in his Stag V8 saloons and estates
Home of the brave
The innovative Silverstone proved a hit with keen amateur drivers. To mark its 75th, Healey's club racer returns to the circuit for which it is named
PLAYING ALL THE ANGLES
Alfa Romeo's wild RZ eschewed the jellymould styling of the period to offer a striking, wedge-shaped take on open-topped performance motoring