Honda goes racing with EU-spec Civic Wagon

Honda has announced it will participate in the 2014 season of the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) with a highly-modified Civic Tourer, marking the first time in two decades that a station wagon lines up on the starting grid of a BTCC event.

In its transformation from a family hauler to a race car, the Civic Tourer will gain a full body kit consisting of a front splitter, fender flares on all four corners, a large trunk-mounted wing and center-locking wheels mounted on low-profile Dunlop tires. Pictures of the interior are not available but the wagon is undoubtedly fitted with a full roll cage to protect the driver, a minimalist digital instrument cluster and a bucket seats with a four-point harness.

The BTCC-bound station wagon will be powered by a heavily-modified version of the turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that will make its production debut under the hood of the 2015 Civic Type R. Built by famed tuner Neil Brown, the engine will put out more than 300 horsepower, over 100 more than the Type R and nearly twice the output of a stock, gasoline-burning Civic Tourer. Power will be sent to the drive wheels via a sequential gearbox.

The Honda Civic Tourer is scheduled to make its racing debut in on March 29th, 2014, at the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit in England. It will face stiff competition from a diverse lineup of cars including the Toyota Avensis, the Volkswagen Passat and several Honda Civic hatchbacks.