The big challenge with the new Type R — and one tacitly acknowledged by Kakinuma — is ensuring that the driver feels as intrinsically involved in the experience as the car’s 316bhp output suggests they ought to be.

The previous Type R was monstrously capable, but a preoccupation with ’Ring-based high-speed stability meant it didn’t truly come alive until way beyond the national speed limit.

We've driven the new Honda Civic Type R - read the review here

With the new platform delivering a significantly longer, wider footprint, the hurdle is now set even higher, and Honda will need to have expended quite some effort to preserve a real-world liveliness in the latest steering and suspension tune.

Successfully overcoming the obstacle ought to pay off handsomely, though: there hasn’t been a giant-killing front-drive hot hatch since the Renault Mégane 275 Trophy — a car we’ve hardly stopped raving about.

Read more:

2017 Honda Civic Type R officially revealed

Honda Civic Type R project boss Hideki Kakinuma on the all-new hot hatch

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