It's incredible and also slightly frightening. As we approach the first left-hand corner, I begin to worry. Being on the right-hand side, I have a better line of sight around the bend, yet even I can't see the exit. But Sol doesn't lift. The nose stays rooted to the line as he takes the corner with an accuracy that would impress any rally hopeful. The car just refuses to wash out at any point. For a front-driver with this much power, it's damn impressive.
Much of the amazingly high grip can be attributed to the tires. These are tarmac-spec cut slicks and I seriously doubt they'll pass any DOT regulations. Combined with the limited-slip differential, available from JAS for a cool $3000, unreal lateral gs out of the corners is all you will feel, with that 260bhp pulling the car through. Accelerate hard out of a slow corner and there's no tug through the steering wheel. Incredibly, you can even do this in the middle of the corner. Normally, you have to wait until the wheels are pointed straight ahead before dumping the accelerator.
Sol bangs the throttle to the floor constantly and is rewarded with instant and raw acceleration. Thankfully, the brakes have also been upgraded. The front discs are now 13 inches in diameter and the rears are 11 inches (a standard Type-R makes do with 11.8 inches and 10 inches, respectively). Of course, the Type-RR stops extremely well, but the weird contrast between the massively heavy brake pedal and ultra-light steering takes some getting used to.
The steering column is carried over from the road car, but this feels a lot lighter at speed. You almost put on too much lock at the first corner, because you expect more resistance-fingertip-light control is required here.
Engine tweaks are simple, just basic ECU and exhaust changes. It's definitely quicker, but not quite as banzai as I expected, given the power numbers. That's no bad thing, perhaps it's a compliment to how well the chassis keeps it in check. I can't feel the i-VTEC variable valve timing kick as hard as it does on the road car, but the engine revs easily. The car has a digital speedometer, but the tach just zips round and the green shift light flashes faintly as a reminder to tug on the gear lever for a quick upshift.
Tug? That's an understatement, more like pull as hard as you can, because the sequential gearbox on the Type-RR requires real effort to slot it into gear. Don't be slow with it, either. With throttle foot flat to the floor, grab the lever (to the right of the steering wheel) and virtually jerk it into gear. No need to touch the clutch pedal at all when rowing up or down through the gears. The gearbox is definitely a serious piece-another part from JAS that could possibly fit onto a USDM Civic Si or RSX Type-S. But you've got to be a seriously committed track-day enthusiast to want a straight-cut sequential transmission in your Honda.
The JAS rally car feels great, but then again, the whole thing is designed to impress while flying sideways through dirt. JAS will sell a complete car like this one (it'll cost about $131,000-ouch), but unless you're rallying every weekend, you may not want to shell out for the whole deal. What an ordinary enthusiast needs to do is get his or her paws around just the Type-RR parts they want: sequential transmission, carbon door panels, center console, rally suspension, monster brakes, or engine package. But remember, even though Honda was involved with the design of the Type-RR, warranty concerns will be an issue.
Can you even imagine the look on your local service advisor's face when you drive up sporting a Type-RR-spec roll cage? The biggest concern remains: can we even get it here? Buying hardcore Type-RR parts from JAS and shipping them home is one thing, but being able to experience a full-blown Euro-spec Type-R rally car on American roads is another. Honda did have a hand in the creation of this little rocket and the release of the Mugen four-door Civic Si here obviously shows it's listening to us.
But will a car bearing the Type-R badge ever come Stateside? We're tired of lusting after unobtainable creations like the Type-RR. Hopefully, car manufacturers are beginning to realize this.