There is no exhaust noise, pops, bangs or cat-superheating theatrics, just the thin, reedy note of a naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine built to Honda ... for an EP3 Civic Type R.

The EP3 generation Civic Type R is an unassuming little thing. Parked alongside the later FN2 generation Civic and the latest five-door, 306bhp Type R, its styling is positively restrained.

The Integra Type R came equipped with a factory-modified B18C inline-four engine which reached nearly 200 horsepower. The EP3 ...