By Christoper A Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(May 30, 2018) This is a pickup. It was built by a team from Product Engineering at Honda’s U.K. assembly plant in Swindon using a pre-production model Honda Civic Type R. It is likely to be one of the fastest pickup trucks in use on British roads. Known as “Project P,” it is identical to a production Civic Type R from the B-pillars forward, and retains its engine, gearbox and suspension.

Because of this, it goes from 0-62 mph in less than six seconds, and is capable of a top speed of more than 165 mph. It also retains the production car’s drive mode selector that allows the driver to choose between the Comfort, Sport and R+ driving models.



Project lead Alyn James said of the after-hours project: “We have a special projects division at the factory in Swindon and this project was a fantastic opportunity for the team to show just what their creative minds could do. The passion that our engineers have for Honda is shown in our latest creation and we are even considering taking it to the Nurburgring to see if we can take the record for the fastest front-wheel drive pickup truck!”

Rather than graft a box onto the back of the car, the team removed the glass, roof panel and C-pillars, but retained the production side panels. Structural rigidity is restored via the addition of a substantial rollbar and the creation of a bulkhead behind the front seats. A hand-built load bed lined with steel deck plates handles the toughest cargo.

The pickup is painted Rally Red, and retains the rear wing of the production vehicle. It is mounted to a modified decklid, and swings out of the way when it is opened. Modifying the trunk lid to swing down like a traditional pickup tailgate would have made it tougher to use the load bay.

Needless to say, there are no plans to put the Civic Type R pickup into production. However it will be used to transfer Honda lawn and garden products as required.

The Virtual Driver