Will Honda's Civic Type R performance bakkie see the light of day?

By Colin Windell

While currently a one-off concept designed in the UK, the question is whether Honda will see the Civic Type R Pickup Truck as a possible production model.

Honda UK put the vehicle on show recently at the annual Society of Motor Manufacturer’s and Traders (SMMT) test days  - this barely a year after the launch of the road car.

Built by a specialist team from the Product Engineering department at the Honda of the UK Manufacturing (HUM) factory in Swindon and codenamed ‘Project P’, the Civic Type R Pickup Truck has been modified and developed from the standard road car to create potentially one of the fastest pickup trucks on UK roads. 

To create the Project P concept, the team used a pre-production version and adapted the design rearwards from the B-pillars of the car, with sweeping lines from the roofline to the back hiding a flatbed loading area in the centre of the car where the rear seats and boot space would normally be. 

Finished in Rallye Red, the concept retains the iconic rear wing associated with both the FK2 and FK8 Civic Type R, which, in a clever piece of engineering, is movable to allow direct and unfettered access to the rear of the truck. 

Using the same powertrain, suspension and gearbox as the standard road car, it is estimated Project P will complete the 0-100 km/h sprint in under six seconds and reach a top speed of 260 km/h. It also possesses the same driving modes of comfort, Sport and +R, Project P offering both ride comfort as well as a unique racing capability on track.