What's the news?

Honda has confirmed that the Civic Tourer will be unveiled to the public at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show on 10th September. It is the first time there has been an estate version of the Civic since the high-roofed Civic Shuttle that was discontinued in 1991. The Tourer will be built in Swindon and is due to go on sale in early 2014. Updates to the hatchback version will also be revealed in Frankfurt.

We'll have to wait until the show for full details but Honda has set out to give the Civic Tourer class-leading load space. There is more than 600 litres of capacity with the rear seats up and tonneau in place. Customers will also be able to specify adaptive rear dampers that adjust to compensate for load and road conditions while the driver can select Comfort, Normal and Dynamic settings. Engine choice is between 1.8-litre petrol and 1.6-litre diesel units.

Anything else?

The Civic 2013 World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) car will also be on display; Honda is competing in the championship with drivers Gabriele Tarquini and Tiago Monteiro. In addition to the Civics the NSX concept will make an appearance in Frankfurt, showing a potential direction for the next NSX's interior design. Completing the line-up of show highlights is the 1988 McLaren Honda MP4/4; next year Honda will return to the Grand Prix world, supplying engines to McLaren. Despite the 26-year gap the engine specifications are outwardly similar; the old car used a 1.5-litre turbocharged V6 while the new regulations call for a 1.6-litre turbo V6. In 1988 the MP4/4 won fifteen of the sixteen races in the season; no doubt McLaren and Honda would like to see a repeat of that performance in 2014.

John Lambert - 8 Aug 2013