Extracting 260 horsepower from a four-cylinder engine isn’t exactly a cakewalk, but famed Japanese tuner Spoon seem to understand the game pretty well at this point. With a 1.8-liter kit, individual throttle bodies, a full titanium exhaust, high-lift cams and lightened internals, not only does its monster B16B produce power, but it revs incredibly fast. However, as impressive as this gem of an engine is, it’s only one piece of the purposeful, simple and very quick Civic Type R.

Understated but purposeful, this EK9 pulls no punches.

The focal point with this car is obviously the weight reduction. By stripping unnecessary interior panels and using lightweight materials for the hood, among other things, Spoon slimmed the Civic down to an astonishing 1,984 pounds. As long as the piece in question didn’t affect the structural integrity of the car, it was removed.

As soon as the onboard footage begins, the cabin is flooded with a glorious, throaty bark that not many Hondas can mimic. As the revs rise and fall dramatically, it becomes obvious that the gear ratios have been altered: stacked closer for optimal acceleration out of slow corners. Keiichi Tsuchiya rifles through the gears effortlessly, and maintains strong drive in just about every section of the circuit.  The next indication this car is far from stock is in the steering response.

Though some mention to improving the steering is made in the description of the car, it’s only when Tsuchiya flings the featherweight Honda into a corner that it becomes apparent. No trace of understeer, no delay and small jabs countersteering indicate a quicker, sharper rack as well as a decent set of sport tires up front. Additionally, the braking performance looks top-notch. Often, the stoppers on EK Civics have been derided for being a bit too easy to lock, but with Spoon 4-pot calipers in front and reduced vehicle weight, there are no hysterics in the braking zone, except for Tsuchiya’s ecstatic laughter.