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Honda Civic Type R Mugen review

It’s easily the most expensive Civic yet, costs a wallet-withering £38,599 and in one sense is an absolute bargain.

Why? Because each of these tuned 240bhp Type Rs costs about £190,000 to build, netting creator Mugen a £150,000 loss for every example sold. Which makes it easier to understand why there will only be 20.

There is method to this fiscal madness, however, the establishment of Honda engine tuner Mugen in the minds of UK petrolheads being the aim. We Brits buy more Type R Civics than any other country, including Japan, presenting this tuning specialist with a tempting commercial opportunity. Mugen means “unlimited” – supposedly of power, rather than price – and though it’s owned by the Honda family, with a history stretching back to 1973, it operates separately from Honda.

Unusually, the process of making these 20 special Civics occurs entirely in the UK, Honda shipping British-built Type Rs from its Swindon plant to Mugen’s premises in Northampton. The priciest element is the total strip-down and high-precision rebuild of the engine into what’s virtually a full-race, hand-built £19,000 motor.

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Tokyo Motor Show 2009: Lotus Exige Stealth

Tokyo might not seem like the natural place for small British sportscar maker Lotus to reveal a new model but it’s done exactly that. Alongside the Japanese debut of the Evora, Lotus rolled out its Exige Stealth: a matte-painted machine that’d look perfect in Darth Vader’s garage.

What’s all the fuss about?

A special edition Lotus is always going to cause a stir and this Stealth one in Tokyo did exactly that. The flat paint gives this limited-run machine a look that lives up to its name, the contrasting gloss black stripes and carbon fibre trim making it about the most aggressive looking Exige we’ve ever seen. The most touched too, nobody passing it able to resist the temptation to feel the soft finish of the paintwork. Only 35 will be built and five are earmarked for Japanese customers.

Any new technology?

Not really, except that fancy paint – which unlike others is a proper matte finish rather than a matte lacquer over regular paint. It’s about 10kg lighter than the regular 260bhp Exige Cup car it’s based on. Sold as the Stealth in Japan only, it’ll be called Scuda elsewhere in the world – which is Italian for ‘dark’, apparently. {via}

2010 Chevrolet Camaro

The 2010 Camaro is a 2-door, 4-passenger sports car, available in 5 trims, ranging from the LS Coupe to the 2SS Coupe.

Upon introduction, the LS Coupe is equipped with a standard 3.6-liter, V6, 304-horsepower engine that achieves 17-mpg in the city and 29-mpg on the highway. A 6-speed manual transmission with overdrive is standard, and a 6-speed automatic transmission with overdrive is optional. The 2SS Coupe is equipped with a standard 6.2-liter, V8, 426-horsepower engine that achieves 16-mpg in the city and 24-mpg on the highway. A 6-speed manual transmission with overdrive is standard.