The latest arrival in SMMT’s Westminster exhibition space celebrates Honda’s latest UK-built Civic model. The display showcases 40 years of Civic history, with the 2012 model alongside its 1972 ancestor from Honda’s heritage fleet.
Honda has installed a timeline in the exhibition space to put the development of the Civic in context of current affairs, sporting achievements and advances in technology through the model’s history. The ninth generation car, manufactured at Honda’s production facility in Swindon, is quieter, more refined and more efficient than ever. Compared to the equivalent eighth generation car, CO2 emissions from the 2.2-litre diesel variant have been reduced by 18%, down from 134g/km to 110g/km in the latest model.
In December last year, Honda celebrated the start of mass production of the New Civic, at the same time announcing the creation of 500 new jobs to meet a forecasted manufacturing increase in 2012.
Speaking at the time of the announcement, Prime Minister David Cameron said, “This is great news and a tremendous boost to the workforce, the car industry and UK manufacturing. Honda is contributing to a real renaissance in the UK automotive industry, we have a highly skilled workforce and we continue to be at the forefront of new technology and development. Its success is of great importance to our economy and we are committed to do all that we can to see this vital industry grow and thrive.”
In addition to the new Civic and the Jazz, 2012 sees the production launch of the new European CR-V at Swindon, along with the production launch of a small diesel engine. 2012 manufacturing volume of cars at Swindon is forecast to double to 180,000 units.
The original Civic was created following a revolutionary approach to the design and concept. Two project teams were formed to represent two different generations of engineers, working completely independently of each other and encouraging competition between them. Despite not seeing each other’s progress, in the end the two ideas were almost identical in concept, with both teams defining their ideal car as “a world-class car that is light, quick and compact”. To date, more than 20 million Civics have been sold worldwide.
Click through the slideshow below to see all the photos from SMMT’s exhibition space:
