Mugen US-Bound: 2008 Honda Mugen Civic Si

[YSSMAN]

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Konichiwa, Beyotch!​

07/23/2007 -LEXINGTON, Ohio - A factory-prepared 2008 Honda Civic MUGEN Si Sedan will debut in mid-October, American Honda Motor Co., Inc., announced today.

The Civic MUGEN Si Sedan is equipped with a high-performance suspension, forged aluminum wheels, aerodynamic body styling and a sport-tuned exhaust system.

"Honda enthusiasts have long been asking for factory-installed MUGEN performance products similar to what the company offers in Japan," said John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda. "We're enthusiasts, too, and the ultra-premium Civic MUGEN Si Sedan offers exclusive style and elevated handling performance with legendary Honda refinement."

The track-tuned suspension, tested at the Twin Ring Motegi racing circuit in Japan, lowers the vehicle by 0.6 inches with aggressive spring and damper tuning for enhanced handling performance while still maintaining a high level of ride comfort. Compared to the conventional Civic Si Sedan, front and rear damping force (both bump and rebound) was increased between 8- and 24-percent. Lightweight 16.98-pound 18x7.5-inch forged aluminum wheels (27 percent lighter than the stock 17x7 alloy wheel) and high-grip BFGoodrich® g-Force KDW 215/40ZR18 summer tires help to create MUGEN's unique, rewarding and well-balanced handling performance character. The full-vehicle aero-package adds a front spoiler with a sports grille, side spoilers, a rear bumper diffuser and a rear wing.

The sport exhaust system reduces back pressure from the catalytic converter back. The Civic MUGEN Si Sedan will be available exclusively in Fiji Blue Pearl and include front and rear MUGEN emblems. Inside, a MUGEN Limited Edition placard is located on the center console along with a spherical 50 mm MUGEN aluminum shift knob.

The name MUGEN symbolizes Honda performance throughout Asia and around the globe. MUGEN, under license by M-TEC Co., Ltd., of Japan, has been closely associated with Honda for more than three decades in the design and manufacture of racing and premium aftermarket performance products.

The limited-production vehicle (maximum of 1,000 units for the 2008 model year) will have a retail price of less than $30,000 when it goes on sale and include a full factory warranty. A prototype of the Honda Civic MUGEN Si was shown at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in fall 2006.

Civic MUGEN Si Sedan Specs:
Engine Type = i-VTEC DOHC 4-cylinder engine
Displacement = 2.0 liters (1998 cc)
Transmission = 6 Speed MT
Horsepower = 197 @ 7800 rpm
Torque (lb.-ft.) = 139 @ 6100 rpm
Ride Height = 5.3 inches (-0.6 inches from Civic Si Sedan)
Overall Length = 177.8 inches total (+1.1 inches from Civic Si Sedan)
Wheels: Forged GP 18x7.5 (pattern 5H-114.3 +48)
Color: Fiji Blue Pearl

Well, we're getting one. Thats good news, right? Right?

The only complaint must be the pricing, as the presumably nearly $30K tag will get you into quite a few other nice pocket-rockets as well. But, when you're getting a 1 in 1000 model, thats probably worth it.

 

[3-Wheel Drive]

Cue the millions of US ricer fan-boys collectively creaming their pants.

It is pretty cool, though. Not too sure about those front winglets, though.

 

[Jim Prower]

But it's still not the type R...

 

[skingg]

Horsepower = 197 @ 7800 rpm ... it might even have problem running with the JDM DC2 Type R. It probably depends on how much this car weighs though. Still, neat looking sedan and nice paint.

 

[under18carbon]

Sweet, I love how the rear lights look compared to the old one.

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

^ Case to point, that the Interantional version of the Civic or in Canuk country, the Acura CSX.

-> Well, its still no Type-R (bummer), but at least its the most spirited Civic in the US. But for 30K? Forget it, I'll just get a cracking clearance deal for an '07 STi. I know its Mugen and all, but its 85% cosmetic, and to me thats an empty upgrade. I'll be waiting for the Fit Si or any Type-R (if that gonna happen). Not to mention its still the slowest factory performance Civic in the world, compared to the Euro and JDM Type-R's.

 

[niky]

Wow... 18 inchers and they look... small? I'd prefer lightweight mags in the stock 17" range, and maybe a staggered 225 - 205 set-up.

Nice that they're fixing the damping somewhat... but near thirty kays for better dampers, an exhaust (and just a cat-back, at that) and mags? Money better spent on an Si, shocks and springs, a nifty supercharger and some tires.

 

[a6m5]

Those can't be 18" wheels, could it? Civic can't be that big. I'd expect the 18's to look bigger, even on my much fatter... larger Altima.

 

[YSSMAN]

Money better spent on an Si, shocks and springs, a nifty supercharger and some tires.

...Or you could just buy a VW GLI instead...

 

[Muzaffar]

Its just unfair isn't it?Why do Americans get bad second-hand ripoffs from their Japanese counterparts?I think its a waste of money building a car that is worse than the original.And if imports are too expensive,go buy another car which is still cheaper (Scion TC and Chevy Cobalt are my best bet) and i really do hate the ricer image of Honda.Can't they think of something else more common to rice... (like actually eating rice!?)

 

[YSSMAN]

Its not that its worse, its that more or less, you're paying for special paint, a few badges, and a body-kit. There really isn't an overwhelming change in performance, that quite honestly for $30K, should be happening.

...And I'd still be willing to bet that the now defunct Cobalt SS would put the Civic Si to shame around a track...

 

[niky]

...Or you could just buy a VW GLI instead...

Fanboy!

RE: 18's. It's the lip design that makes them look smaller, but yes, those are 18's.

I hate the way new wheelarches are going. 16's on a new Civic look like 14's on a 90's car, and I swear to Science, the Yaris's wheel wells are so ridiculously large that they could swallow dubs.

 

[Pupik]

Wow... 18 inchers and they look... small? I'd prefer lightweight mags in the stock 17" range, and maybe a staggered 225 - 205 set-up.

Those can't be 18" wheels, could it? Civic can't be that big. I'd expect the 18's to look bigger, even on my much fatter... larger Altima.

The four-door Civic looks like it was caught in a taffy-puller, so that explains the smallish wheel arches, compared to say, an Accord. Accounting for low-profile tires on a larger wheel makes little difference when they're mounted on that car. Maybe some people put 20" or 22" rims on their ride because they it to look like an Imperial Walker.

30 large for a Civic, when you can get a V6 Accord with all the trimmings. If you must have a smaller car, then...

 

[///M-Spec]

Never thought I'd see the day when a Civic rings up at 30 large.

But then again, I'd never thought I'd see a 4,000 lb 3-series BMW either.

Still, I kinda like it. I think the gen 8 sedan is a sharp looking car, it's really grown on me for some reason. I find myself checking it out at traffic lights.

I don't see the value in this model, though. A loaded Si is normally, what... $23k? So this Mugen is a $6-7k wheel, suspension and appearance package? Porsche can barely pull this sort of thing off on a $70k Carrera and Honda wants to do this on a $20k Civic?

I might could (redneck speak popping out--I did spent 12 years in the South) see $25,900 or something like that. Might even be a good deal at that price. But almost $30???


M

 

[Duke]

It's all about that Mugen badge. I'd much rather buy a loaded Si, dump $5k into it myself, and keep $2k... BUT:

That additional money is financable if the dealer spends it, and the built car is covered by the Honda warranty, unlike what you do yourself. Kind of like TRD did with the Scion upgrades. Those two items are going to talk to the majority of people who would consider buying this car.

It's not what you or I would do, but we're not who this is aimed at.

 

[///M-Spec]

Yeah, I can totally see the value in a factory suspension/wheel/appearance package --provided its priced right (I did after all, order my 330i with ZHP). But adding an additional 35-40% on top of a regular Si sounds way too much.

You can make pretty strong arguments that most factory suspension/wheel/appearance packages (ZHP, WS6, S-Line, Sport Design, Spec.B, etc) offer pretty good value for the money and delivers a better integrated package than a choose-your-own-adventure approach.

And in addition to everything you mentioned, a factory package will hold some of its value whereas aftermarket mods almost never.

But unless there's an extra 25 horses or 2 driven wheels the article left out, this one is priced way outta it's league. As someone already mentioned, 30k is deep into WRX and Evo (and A3, TSX, etc.)territory.


M

 

[Kent]

Well, I do like the car... However, I agree that it is over-priced.
That said, I agree that there are major advantages to a factory tuning. ///M-Spec (along with others) makes an excellent point about the return value of factory tuning vs owner tuning.
It is much more difficult to get your money back in resale when you tune a car yourself compared to re-selling a factory tuned car.

Like others have mentioned, this car isn't really aimed at most of us. I believe this car is aimed at major Civic fans who just don't think the US Si is good enough and have no reservations about spending extra money on a limited edition Civic.

In my eyes though, this car is just too expensive.
I mean, there's no way I would spend that much on a Civic when the same price could easily carry me into a world of 4WD and RWD.

 

[Azuremen]

Well, not only does it get you into the nice cheap pocket rockets, 30 grand is where the IS250 starts at, and any average buyer will go Lexus > Civic. Not to mention the IS250 has the same power and more comfort than you can shake a stick at and RWD.

Or a used STi, or a new loaded WRX, or some VW (provided it doesn't fall apart on the way home ) the EVO RS, a Saturn Sky Redline.

Its beat at every point by the WRX... price, speed, room, power, etc. Except fuel economy, maybe. And thats a WRX with the nice options (leather, heated seats, etc)

Ricers will still want it because Civic somehow = awesome fast car in their heads. Though the reason for the Civics success was its affordable price, not speedy cosmetic upgrades factory.

Honda is failing at the growing up bit it looks like to me. Epic Fail.

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

-> I'll still stick to my wagon, unless if the Subie offers me a nice STi.

-> Yup, with over 30K, I could easily get a VW R32, Evo XI GSR, Saturn Sky RL, or even far more better, the S2000!

-> Honda NA definitely screwed up on this one, they should've cut to the chase and bring brought us the Type-R and offer the Mugen kit as an option since the RSX is gone.

-> Unless if its a Type-R, I will never buy a sport compact FWD for 30 grand, that is just plain stupid.

~> I've never concidered that this car is RICE, a car is rice because of its owner/driver of that certain vehicle.

~> So when I point a 'ricer', its the driver who is the ricer.

 

[Keef]

...Or you could just buy a VW GLI instead...

Or you could find out that a supercharger can pump out nearly 250 horsepower on that K20, and the car already handles as good or better than the GLI. Not only does this car look Japanese, but it is Japanese.

Rant over, this car would look really good hunkered down a little, sitting on some light (still, <17 pound 18" rims, WOW!) 17x7.5 wheels with some 225 tires, and a nice Spoon engine tune would be a giant killer.

 

[Azuremen]

Or you could find out that a supercharger can pump out nearly 250 horsepower on that K20, and the car already handles as good or better than the GLI. Not only does this car look Japanese, but it is Japanese.

Rant over, this car would look really good hunkered down a little, sitting on some light (still, <17 pound 18" rims, WOW!) 17x7.5 wheels with some 225 tires, and a nice Spoon engine tune would be a giant killer.

Yeah, that would be awesome as long as they kept the price sane. But they wouldn't.

 

[harrytuttle]

Those can't be 18" wheels, could it? Civic can't be that big. I'd expect the 18's to look bigger, even on my much fatter... larger Altima.

It's not so much the size, but the proportions, and how flabby the side profile is. In this case, because the basic Civic design was intended to be very aerodynamic (and cheap), the result is large expanses of flat, painted steel. There's no way to overcome that "unevenness" of scale with anything less than 20" wheels. Look back at the Civic concept and its 19" wheels. On the stage, it looks right; on the road, it drives like its got wagon wheels. You need something to break up the side panel to show that the wheelarch isn't just a cutout on a large sheet of paper.

In any event, a 1,000-run lot of these will sell out completely, but far slowly than it should. There's no reason for this price other than the badge. None.

 

[JCE]

WTF There is no power increase? What the **** is the point? "wow i want some stickarz and rimz" Give me a break.

 

[Pupik]

That additional money is financable if the dealer spends it, and the built car is covered by the Honda warranty, unlike what you do yourself.

Since this works out to about 1-3 copies of this car per Honda dealer, I can foresee a nice markup for the car, and no test drives. The same thing happened when the S2000 arrived. If they don't move out of the showrooms at the stated price, then the price will come back down. But I can also tell that dealers will probably eBay some of them to get a good bid, so who knows.

But since were talking about a US release...why not do this to the 2 door Si? It's a much a more popular version of the Si, weighs less, and looks better, in my opinion. Maybe Honda was worried about it taking S2000 sales away.

 

[Slicks]

While I can see how Honda could be concerned about losing S2000 sales, I honestly don't think they're right about it. If you're coming in to look at an S2000, you're probably not going to be considering a Civic as well.

I'm not exactly a fan of the new Civic, and I don't think much of this particular one. Nothing more than some extra plastic and a badge. I would be considerably more open to this car had they given a bit of time to the engine and made the output higher.

 

[Keef]

The local Honda dealer doesn't offer S2000 test drives anymore, unless you're there to drive an S2000. My buddy couldn't get one and he works there! They only have 2 on the lot; one in the showroom and one outside.

 

[Azuremen]

The local Honda dealer doesn't offer S2000 test drives anymore, unless you're there to drive an S2000. My buddy couldn't get one and he works there! They only have 2 on the lot; one in the showroom and one outside.

Well, alot of dealerships require you to be pre-approved to test drive nicer cars. I know Subaru's around here do that with the STi. So I imagine thats alot of it.

 

[YSSMAN]

Honda won't let you test drive anything anymore, so its not just the S2000. Ask them for the keys to the Fit (saying your in the market for it or the Yaris), and they're likely to ask for a down-payment beforehand. At least, thats what they've tried here in parts of the US...

 

[Azuremen]

Honda won't let you test drive anything anymore, so its not just the S2000. Ask them for the keys to the Fit (saying your in the market for it or the Yaris), and they're likely to ask for a down-payment beforehand. At least, thats what they've tried here in parts of the US...

It could just be they hate you, since you drive them and report back on how they are rubbish to VW

I'll have to go test it out next time I am near a dealership (so in a week)

 

[YSSMAN]

Ha ha, but it would be nice if they would even speak to you at all. The Honda dealer here has some of the worst service of any dealer in the area, and it is quite disappointing, given that it had at one time been one of the best. Its part of a dealer network there on that corner, and I was so fed-up with it that I ended up going next door to the Kia dealer, actually had a long conversation with the salesman about the Rio5 and the service issues at Honda, and was informed that I was not the first person to complain.

Odd really, as the rest of the dealers are all phenomenal in their service towards customers. Even the Porsche dealer is happy to have "regular" folks like me come in and have a look, and we'll stand around and chat for a while.

Maybe they're feeling the pressure of being under new ownership, or having a new Honda dealer just outside of town, I don't know... But there isn't any reason why they shouldn't speak to customers, much less allow them to drive.

I have a lot of stories about this dealer, usually bad ones (there are some positive ones though!), but it always makes me wonder why I ever go there anymore...