In most of the world, Honda will sell you a Civic Type R with any color seats you want, as long as it’s bright red. And ya know what? Good. We need more fun in the world and red seats are fun, especially in a car as thrilling as the Civic Type R. However, if you want to live life a little less dangerously, and you live in Japan, Honda will ruin the interior if you ask nicely (and pay money), with its new Racing Black Package.
Not only does this new package replace the red seats with boring black ones, it also replaces virtually everything else with black suede. The standard Civic Type R’s interior has suede seats and a suede steering wheel but the Racing Black Package covers the dashboard, armrests, shifter boot, and even the upper door panels in the stuff. It’s like a cocoon of black “Ultrasuede.”
Functionally, nothing changes. The package doesn’t bring any new options or features, it’s simply cosmetic. So if you want to keep the red, you won’t miss out on anything new. It also doesn’t change anything on the outside, as the black wing and black wheels are standard on the Type R, regardless of which color seats you get.
In isolation, the new interior admittedly looks cool. The Civic Type R’s cabin design is awesome looking to begin with, so covering it all in black suede just adds a bit of extra sportiness. However, compared with the standard car’s, the Racing Black Package loses a lot of specialness. A vibrant bright red interior just feels so right in a car as exciting as the Type R. Driving a Type R is a special occasion, so its interior should feel the part.
The Type R’s red interior was one of its unique calling cards, something that made it stand out from not only other Civics but other hot hatches, like the Toyota GR Corolla, which only offers more boring interior options. I understand that giving customers choice is a good thing. But sometimes the customer is wrong.
Got tips? Send ’em to tips@thedrive.com