We speak with a Mugen official, who was in town for the reveal of the exclusive Mugen Civic Type R Group A
Interview by Kap Maceda Aguila
NO DOUBT, one of the big attractions at the 9th edition of the Philippine International Motor Show was an exclusive and rare iteration of the Honda Civic Type R on display — one of only five up for sale in the country. The Mugen Civic Type R Group A (we’ll get to the explanation for the moniker during the Q&A portion below) was unveiled to the public by Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. In town for the show was M-Tec Company (which does business as Mugen Motorsports) official Nori Onuma, and “Velocity” got a chance to exclusively talk to him. Established in 1973 by Hirotoshi Honda, son of Honda Motor Company Founder Soichiro Honda, and Masao Kimura, Mugen makes body kits, sports exhausts, and the sort for Honda. To be clear though, the firm has never been owned by Honda Motor Company.
Here are excerpts from our interview.
VELOCITY: What’s the difference between the Mugen Civic Type R and the regular Civic Type R?
NORI ONUMA: We put in aerodynamic parts for the side spoiler, front bumper, rear spoiler and the rear wing. We also manufacture the muffler for it, along with the forged wheels.
In terms of power output and torque output, is it the same?
Basically, we don’t touch the engine at all.
How about in the cabin? Is there anything different there?
In case of the Group A model in the Philippines, We provide a different shift knob.
If I may ask, why is it called Group A?
The reason we call it Group A is because we also have Group B.
What is the difference between Group A and Group B?
Actually, we haven’t finished development of Group B yet. But the biggest difference would be if we decide to use carbon fiber parts or not. Group B is expected to be displayed in the coming Tokyo Auto Salon.
Honda Cars Philippines will be making only five Mugen Civic Type R Group A units available in the Philippines. How many are available globally?
I’m sorry but I cannot say.
Can we get more than the five initially allocated to our country?
That’s something that Honda Cars Philippines is in charge of, but I hope they get more.
