The Type R has never been a shrinking violet. Its deep front bumper features large scoops and cooling ducts, there are massive vents behind the bulging front wheel arches, while the rear bumper houses four enormous exhausts mounted in pairs either side of the diffuser.

Then, of course, there's that huge rear wing...

There's little doubt that Honda wanted to make a statement with the styling of the Type R. A very clear statement. Certainly some people will stand and stare disapprovingly as you drive past, muttering something disparaging about 'boy racers' under their breath, but who can blame them when you look like you’ve been rummaging through the Halfords performance parts bin.

Those add-ons are not just for show. The vents, cut-outs, nearly flat underfloor, front splitter, rear diffuser and outrageous rear wing all work towards reducing drag and improving downforce and, consequently, producing a stonking ride.

All good things must come to an end, however, and the current Civic – and the fire-breathing Type R – is no exception.

To mark the end of production the last 100 models to roll off the assembly line have been provided with a little more visual drama to make them, ahem, stand out from the crowd a little bit more.

Called the Type R Black Edition the limited run is, er, black with red detailing on the rear wing and red flourishes in the cabin. And that’s it. There are no mechanical tweaks so it drives and handles just like every other Type R from the current crop. In other words it’s just as much of a hooligan as its siblings.

Climb inside – no mean feat given that you’ll be dropping yourself into low-slung two-piece bucket seats – and Honda have succeeded, mostly, in distancing the Type from its less salubrious siblings. In the Black Edition you’ll find flashes of red everywhere you look – the steering wheel, the vent surrounds, the seats – and though there is always the risk of but it’s reasonably well restrained and does spice up the cabin a touch.

The seats are, once you’ve squeezed yourself into them, wonderfully snug and comfortable. With more black than red – the opposite to the standard Type R furniture – they look pretty special too.

There are Type R specific meters that show g forces and sprint times, as well as a row of LED gearshift indicators that illuminate as you approach maximum revs but, other than that, the dashboard is identical to what you’ll see in the standard five-door. The plastics are still hard in places, something that’s unwelcome in a car that costs north of £32,000.

Based on the GT model, LED headlights, cruise control, climate control, keyless entry and ignition, Bluetooth, sat nav and reversing camera are standard.

You also get parking sensors front and rear, auto lights and wipers, front and rear parking sensors, dual zone climate control as well as a host of additional safety features that includes blind spot indicators, forward collision and lane departure warning and cross traffic monitor.

The standard Civic’s magic seats never made it into the Type R but the split-folding rear bench folds down with little fuss to create a completely flat load space that will swallow 1,427 litres. Even with them in place you can still carry an impressive 498 litres.

Cabin storage space is good, too, with a decent-sized door bins, a coin tray behind the gear lever, a large glovebox and roomy central cubbyhole.

This is a car that will be bought not for its practicality but for its performance however, in this case, you can have your cake and eat it because the Type R is blisteringly fast. The zero to 62mph sprint takes just 5.7 seconds – no mean feat when you’re channeling all that torque through just the front tyres – while the top speed, where the law allows, is 167mph.

One issue that Honda worked hard to eradicate – and one that plagues high performance front-drive cars – is torque steer. The Type R’s front suspension has a ‘dual axis’ strut design which reduces torque steer by up to 50 per cent. The steering wheel still wriggles under hard acceleration but it’s nothing a firm grip can’t handle.

Mid-range punch is astonishing. Even at motorway speeds. You can leave it in sixth, put your foot to the floor and the car pulls away with impressive urgency. It makes the Type R an incredibly relaxed, and surprisingly comfortable, long distance tourer if you can tolerate the intrusive engine noise which drones away in the background.

The ride is perfectly acceptable on most journeys, despite its stiffness, but over bumpier surfaces through towns and cities it can get a little wearing after a while.

It’s through the tight and twisty stuff that the Type R really shows what it’s about, particularly if you press a handy little button on the right side of the dash, just behind the steering wheel. Marked +R it turns the dash lighting from white to deep, angry red. It also looks rather nice.

That’s not all it does, however. It also makes the throttle more responsive, adds weight to what is already pretty meaty steering and stiffens up the dampers by 30 per cent.

All that makes what is already an uncompromising hot hatch into a hardcore racer. It is nimble, reactive and focused. Traction from the low profile tyres is impressive and the steering accurate. The brakes have immense stopping power allowing you to approach bends with great confidence and intent. It’s all tied together with a poised, communicative chassis.

By any measurement this is the fastest Civic Honda have produced. With five doors instead of three it has always been incredibly practical and it is, just about, comfortable enough to use every day. Personally, if I owned one, I wouldn’t care if I could get the weekly shop in the boot, or if there’s room to squeeze my three sisters in to take them out for their weekly bingo fix.

With just 100 Black Edition Type Rs up for grabs you’ll be lucky to get your hands on one but, if you like your cars loud and proud then it would prove well worth the effort to try and lay your hands on what could prove to be a very collectable piece of machinery.

Honda Civic Type R Black Edition

£32,295Price:

2.0-litre VTEC turbocharged 4-cylinder petrolEngine:

6-speed manualTransmission:

306bhpMax power:

295lbftMax torque:

167mphMax speed:

5.7secAcceleration (0-62mph):

38.7mpgCombined:

170g/kmEmissions (CO2):

www.honda.co.ukFor more information visit