Honda Civic Type-R gifted to Yang di-Pertuan Agong
Some of you may remember that pictures of a Honda Civic Type-R (FK8R) dressed in official Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) livery that went viral on social media earlier this year.
Speculations were rife as to the hot hatch’s potential induction into PDRM’s fleet then. Following a special handover ceremony and official press announcement made by Honda Malaysia this week, we now know what said car will actually serve as.
Representatives from Honda Malaysia, led by MD and CEO Toichi Ishiyama, have gifted the made-in-UK hot hatch earlier this week to His Majesty The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.
The Type-R was gifted by the firm to His Majesty and tasked as an official escort vehicle in the royal motorcade. As we’ve seen prior, this hot hatch gets fully decked out with official PDRM livery and police lighting.
Also delivered along with the Type-R was a current Civic 1.5 TC-P. The latter was gifted by Honda Malaysia to Her Majesty The Raja Permaisuri Agong instead, tasked as Her Majesty’s official escort vehicle.
“At Honda, we are committed to offer products that are of high value and also advanced in technology to provide joy to our customers.On behalf of Honda Malaysia, I am truly honoured to present the Civic Type R to His Majesty The Yang di-Pertuan Agong for his daily use as an escort car. Adding to the celebration, I am also pleased to present another revolutionary Honda model, the Civic 1.5L Turbo to Her Majesty Raja Permaisuri Agong as an escort car,” said Ishiyama as the ceremony concluded.
To refresh your memory, the Malaysia-spec Civic Type-R boasts a manic 306bhp and 400Nm from its 2.0-litre 4-cylinder VTEC Turbo heart to drive the front wheels. Exclusively primed with a 6-speed manual transmission, it’s able to do the 0-100kph sprint in a sprightly 5.8 secs before maxing out at a claimed 272kph.
Though set to be replaced by an upgraded version very soon, Civic 1.5 TC-P, isn’t too shabby in its own right. Its smaller 1.5-litre 4-cylinder VTEC Turbo heart send out 172bhp and 220Nm to the front wheels, both managed by a CVT automatic box that grants 0-100kph in a claimed 8.2 secs.
So, the next time you see either one of these Hondas on the road, perhaps flanked by a few escort motorcycles, you’d best make way indeed.
