Civic is30

Coincidentally, the model also notches up its two millionth sale in Europe.

One quarter of those have been built at the Honda's European Car Plant at South Marston.

Production of the first Civic, a small 1200cc front-wheel drive hatchback began exactly three decades ago in Japan.

Since then, the model has evolved through seven generations with body styles encompassing three and five door hatchbacks, saloons, estates, coupes, open top and even the 4WD sport utility variants.

The Civic has seen the introduction of a number of Honda's technical inno-vations including the CVCC engine (1973); the VTEC engine (1989); Real Time 4WD (Civic Shuttle, 1984); the electric powered folding roof (CRX, 1992) and CVT transmission (1996).

More recently the model has made huge strides in the area of pedestrian safety.

They have also brought natural gas powered vehicles (the Civic GX, 1997) and petrol/electric hybrid technology (Civic Hybrid, 2002) into volume pro-duction.

The Civic is now produced at several plants around the globe and has sold in more than 100 countries. It has achieved total sales of more than 14 million.

It has also become synony-mous with the success and efficiency of the brand as well as the breakthrough and elevation of Honda into the world's top 10 vehicle manufacturers.

The first Civic was introduced in 1972.

It was a two-door model with a transverse 1.2 litre aluminium engine and front-wheel drive and it signalled a technological revolution.

The second generation saw the introduction of the first Civic five-door hatch-back in 1979 with a 1.5 litre four-cylinder engine prod-ucing 70 horsepower at 5,500 rpm.

It was matched to a four-speed manual gearbox or two-speed Hondamatic box and a modified CVCC engine was introduced in 1973 in order to conform to the Clean Air Act in the USA.

In its ability to reduce harmful emissions, this engine established a long-standing benchmark and helped establish Honda's worldwide image as an innovative engine manu-facturer.

First Generation 1972 1979

Two-door with rear hatch, four-door and estate.

Honda's first Civic was powered by an all alumin-ium 54 hp 1.2 litre SOHC four-cylinder engine.

By 1976 production had already reached the one million mark.

Second Generation 1979 - 1983

Super Civic available in three-door, five-door hatch-back and estate forms from September 1979.

It also saw external dimen-sions increased and by the end of 1982, three million Civics had been manu-factured.

Third Generation 1983 1987

Introduction of the Wonder Civic with its three bodystyles: the three-door, the Shuttle (a predecessor of today's MPVs) and the CRX.

The fresh, sharp lines of this new Europeanised series represented a major change in direction of the Civic's development.

A significant feature was the 12-valve light alloy engine fitted to all models which improved combus-tion characteristics, reduced fuel consumption and provided excellent torque.

In particular the CRX became a favourite with the young at heart, a compact sports coup whose powerful 100 horsepower 1.5 litre engine delivered 0 to 62 mph acceleration in under 10 seconds and went on to a top speed of 124 mph.

In 1985 Honda developed the model further, installing a 1.6 litre DOHC four valve engine, capable of 130 horsepower at 6,500 rpm.

Fourth Generation 1987 1991

Grand Civic was offered in three-door, four-door saloon, Shuttle and CRX variants.

This generation saw the introduction of four-valve-per-cylinder engines across all models.

From 1990 the three-door model was available with a 125 horsepower 1.6-litre SOHC-VTEC engine, the first engine in the world which allowed variable valve timing and lift.

Installed in the CRX ESi with 125 horsepower and VTi with 150 horsepower, Honda became the first manufacturer of a high performance engine whose flexibility made it just as capable in town traffic as it was on the open road.

In the VTi version, the CRX was a pure perfor-mance variant and could reach a top speed of 138 mph.

Fifth Generation 1991 1995

The hitherto linear design of the Civic gave way to a more tapering design, and the reduced glass area, in spite of a greater wheelbase and length, provided a more compact appearance.

With this generation, two new VTEC engines a SOHC-VTEC and a VTEC-E engine were introduced.

In February 1993 the Civic range was supplemented by the very attractive Ameri-can-built Coupe, while two years later the Swindon-built five-door model appeared on the scene.

This was destined to be the biggest selling Civic of all in the European market.

Sixth Generation 1995 2001

The three-door model increased in size to 4.19 m and now featured clear glass headlights as well as a striking roof line.

Engine outputs were also increased without a fuel consumption penalty.

In 1998 the Civic series was augmented by the introduction of the family-friendly Aero deck estate, which was another Swindon built model.

Meanwhile, back in Japan the concept Civic Type-R model appeared, powered by a 1.6 litre DOHC VTEC engine producing 185 horse-power at 8200 rpm.

Seventh and current Generation

A global player with the two, three, four and five-door models and Type-R, the new Civic has fresh and innovative styling and a distinctive short nose and is 50 mm higher than its predecessor.

With its 200hp 2.0-litre engine, the Type-R is the most potent product in the history of the Civic.

It epitomises Honda's outstanding motor sport involvement which has netted six Formula 1 constructors' titles and more than 500 motor cycling victories in Grand Prix.

It behaves docilely in town traffic.

But on the open road, it transforms itself into a racing machine par excellence with a 0 to 62 mph figure of just 6.8 seconds.