The Mugen RR - a unicorn. A car that stirs emotions. The pinacle of front wheel drive motoring and a car that celebrates all that is right with Japanese automotive engineering.
When Andy contacted us about a Mugen RR he knew exactly what he wanted, as near as perfect as can be, low mileage and original. We found this example at a Honda specialist (think Mugen RRs, NSX-R and S2000 Type-S) near Tokyo. Yutaka took the trip north to inspect the car and it didn't disappoint. Basically perfect. The Mugen RR calipers were a welcomed extra as they cost in the region of £5,000 in the UK!
The phenomenal Civic Mugen RR was so hotly anticipated that all 300 sold within 10 minutes of their September 2007 release in the Japanese domestic market.
When Mugen engineers were given free reign to boost the performance of an already hardcore JDM Honda Civic Type R (FD2), they trimmed off 10.4 kilos, added around 15ps and significantly improved the handling and aerodynamics. Not only did this shave off two seconds from the Tsukuba Circuit lap time, but it made the driving experience much more exhilarating.
Exclusivity is the Civic Mugen RR's middle name. Production was limited to 300 units and Mugen prevents the creation of counterfeits by only selling replacement parts to the 300 registered owners. This helps make the Civic Mugen RR a very sound investment and partially explains why some were already sold at nearly twice their original price.
The Civic Mugen RR is powered by a heavily modified version of Honda's 2.0-liter K20A DOHC i-VTEC inline four engine, which was already extremely responsive. To bring out the engine's full potential and deliver extremely sharp throttle response to the driver's smallest input - with power coming on strong at lower rpm - Mugen replaced the camshafts, valve springs, exhaust manifold and intake manifold cover with higher performance, lighter weight components. It also carefully tweaked ECU mapping and significantly improved intake and exhaust performance by adding a ram air intake from the front grille, larger intake box, higher flowing catalytic converter, straight silencer and dual exhaust pipes. The impressive result is 240 PS (180 kW; 243 hp) at 8000 rpm and 218 Nm (161 lb-ft) torque at 7000 rpm in an extremely lightweight car.
Many components both inside and out are fully or partially constructed of lightweight carbon fiber. This includes the front seats, engine cover, front bumper and rear wing. The hood is lightweight aluminum and other parts like the side skirts and rear under spoiler that were added to improve aerodynamics are also lightweight.
Handling is sharper with more predictable, higher precision steering, more solid stability, a firmer ride and fantastic grip that keeps you in control when pushing it around corners. In fact, the ability to enter corners at higher speeds is this model's main advantage over the stock Civic Type R. Mugen's suspension features stiffer springs and five-way adjustable dampers that can be manually adjusted with a special tool kept in the tool box beneath the trunk room floor. Wider 18-inch Mugen 7-spoke aluminum wheels are fitted with sticky Bridgestone Potenza RE070 225/40R18 tires and the stock Civic Type-R Brembo calipers feature lightweight slotted Mugen rotors for controlled, predictable deceleration that is truly top class. Carbon air ducts help keep the front brakes cool even during spirited driving.
A supremely sporty red and black interior redesigned by Mugen further enhances the driving experience. Its sporty, minimalist Mugen instrument panel has a purpose-driven design with large central tachometer. There's a small red digital speedometer above it and other gauges (water temperature, oil temperature and oil pressure) are placed off to the side above the audio system.
Special-edition carbon reclining Recaro SP-X seats with body-hugging contours practically urge you to press the pedal and test their support around corners. The sporty aluminum pedals provide a great pedal feel and instant response whether accelerating or decelerating. A sporty short-stroke shifter delivers somewhat light-but-sure shifting of the stock 6-speed manual transmission, which is supported by the stock helical limited slip differential from the Civic Type R FD2.
Interested in a Mugen RR? Get in touch today. We've now imported several of these special cars and continue to serve our Mugen RR clients with spare parts.
Enjoy the pictures. We could spend all day looking!
