It was just last year that Honda tuner Mugen gave U.K hot hatch fans a limited run of the Honda Civic Type R. It was an exclusive machine with only 20 units produced and just 16 were sold to customers. Sales were low due to its hefty price tag of 
around NZ$77,000. Only hardcore fans could pay this much for a Civic.
For 2012, Mugen is back with a whole new engine for the Type R Civic and with the new model not due till next year, the tuner is going big on this final edition. The new motor is bored from 2.0 litres to 2.2 litres, with horsepower boosted 30% to 195kW and torque raised to 240Nm. Mugen views this special Civic as a tribute to Honda’s naturally-aspirated K20 engine, which has been at the heart of the company’s tuning efforts for years.
“Environmental pressures mean naturally aspirated engines are rapidly being superseded by other engine architectures and technologies,” Mugen Euro president Hiro Toyota said. “We may never see the like of the K20 in a mainstream production car again, so felt it only fitting we mark the occasion with this special 2.2 version of the Honda Civic Type R.” Read the rest of this entry »
from British firm Project Kahn.
German tuners Edo Competition are celebrating the outgoing M5 with one final hurrah and have created a special M5 Touring for the occasion. Called the M5 Dark Edition, this wagon is modified with a specially tuned version of the 5.0-liter V10. It’s been upgraded with a recalibrated ECU, high-flow air filters and catalytic converters and a new high-performance exhaust system.
That’s not the case over in Europe where the RS, now in its twilight years in current form, has proved popular for fans and tuners alike.
