Setiap kereta HONDA yang dikeluarkan mempunyai 'legenda' yang tersendiri dan sentiasa mempunyai peminatnya.
Thanks to Japanese manufacturers such as Honda, car buyers didn't need to have supercar money to have fun. Here are five cars that prove just that.
It is impossible to love just one Honda, the Japanese manufacturer makes brilliant cars whether utilitarian or sports cars, either way it knows how to make good cars. And we respect that fact a lot, as such, in our quest to find just one good Honda, we found that it is very near impossible to write about just one good Honda, so we thought we would list out 5 of our favourite Honda's:
The Civic Type R FD2R is one of the most accomplished sports car of our generation. It is light, fast, powerful, engaging and extremely involving, all characteristics you would expect of a sports car, old or new. The 2.0-litre naturally-aspirated engine will rev to the heavens all day long if you want it to, and that just completes the package that makes the FD2R such an amazing driving machine. And that's before mentioning the stiff but submissive suspension, the short clickity click gearshifts which just happens to be amongst the finest in the business today. A little too hardcore for daily use, the FD2R is proof that the world still wants and loves raw machines.
What a machine! Not as quick as the FD2R but it feels even more raw, having been designed and built in the 90s, it did not have to comply to stringent safety laws, environmental regulations and other fun-impeding regulations. The outcome is a machine powered by a 1.6-litre, naturally-aspirated high strung engine that had its revs flying at the slightest tap of the throttle pedal.
Handling was beautiful and it had its understeer sorted thanks to its lightweight. It did tend to oversteer at the limit but quick reflexes and a jam of the throttle pedal sorted that out. It did not have a lot in terms of creature comforts, but it was fun. Serious fun!
The real exotic car of this bunch and the most expensive one too. The years may have caught up with it, but you will still need to fork over a million Ringgit for a good example or at least a few hundred thousand. It's body is made entirely of aluminium and there is a generous dosage of carbon fibre sprinkled around including the front bonnet.
To help with performance a number of items were removed including the sound deadening materials, the radio, spare tyre, air-conditioning and even the traction control system. In total, the NSX-R is 120kg lighter than the standard NSX and has a final weight of 1230kg. It's powered by a 3.0-litre naturally-aspirated V6 engine with Honda's iconic VTEC technology but was blueprinted and had a balanced crankshaft assembly which is exactly the same high precision process done for Honda racing engines.
The NSX-R was updated in 2002 with a new 3.2-litre engine which Honda says put out 290hp, but the figure is said to be higher. And it didn't have power steering.
The chances of seeing one is close to zero considering there aren't many in the country. But the next time you spot one, appreciate it for Ayrton Senna had a role to play in its handling.
You probably never saw this coming but the 3rd generation Prelude was quite a cracker. A quick search on the internet revealed that in 1987, popular American motoring magazine published a test where a 1988 Honda Prelude 2.0Si with four-wheel-steering (yes, that technology that turns all four wheels) outclassed almost every new car of the year on the slalom, including exotics like the Corvette, Porsche and Ferrari.
You may ignore it as it passes today, but the Prelude was a masterpiece of its time, especially the third-generation model which is powered by Honda's now legendary B20A DOHC fuel-injected engine. It's flip up headlights is illegal today and it may seem very dated, but at one time, this was the Honda to have for the everyday man.
Arguably the sexiest Honda ever built, the S2000 was built to celebrate the company's 50th anniverysary and was a running model from 1999 till 2009. If you didn't already know, the S2000 is named for its 2.0-litre engine displacement.
It's rear wheel drive layout and sexy drop top looks made it a favourite amongst drifters and show offs alike. It featured Honda's iconic interior build quality and was incredibly fun to drive both fast and slow. It's engine offered anywhere between 237hp and 247hp depending on where you are and the model year.
It is still pricey till this day but find a well-loved model and you will be in for years of smiles.
Article by Keshy Dhillon
Source: AUTOCAR MALAYSIA
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