By Tony Ng

Mugen Euro has confirmed the development of a highly-tuned Honda Civic Type R 'Mugen' concept prototype road car, using the same powertrain as the Civic Mugen RR saloon launched in 2007 in Japan.

The car is being developed in Japan by Mugen Euro - the Northampton-based subsidiary of Honda's long standing tuning partner Mugen - and will be brought to the UK for testing later in the year.

To enhance the performance of the already-impressive Civic Type R, Mugen Euro will tune Honda's 2.0-litre i-VTEC engine to produce more power and torque, as well as developing the brakes, exhaust and suspension.

Externally, the Civic will take on an even more aggressive appearance, with a new aerodynamic package including a larger rear boot spoiler.

"In standard trim, the Civic Type R is a thrilling machine to drive," said Hiro Toyoda, Vice President of MUGEN EURO. "It is a fantastic base model from which we hope to develop one of the quickest point to point front-wheel-drive road cars in the country."

There are currently no plans for a production model.

tonyng@sph.com.sg