Presented during the Tokyo Auto Salon, Mugen Motorsports (M-TEC Co., Ltd) exhibited the Mugen Honda Civic RR Advanced Concept at the 2009 show.

We should make it clear at the outset that this car is a hardcore version of the Honda Civic Type R. Subtly styled was never on Mugen's agenda as the company obviously never intended to conceal their hidden alter ego with the RR Advanced Concept which previously was known as the Civic Type-RR Experimental Spec concept. This car stands out from the previous Mugen Honda Civic RR with its almost fully clad carbon fibre panels which contributed to its overall featherweight.

The Mugen Civic RR Advanced Concept sheds its weight by utilising carbon fibre paneling on the doors, boot lid, front and rear bumper, side skirts, front lip and bonnet while a lexan rear window, titanium exhaust and titanium springs also contributes to the weight loss programme.

Weighing in at only 1095kg the carbon fibre Mugen RR Advanced Concept showed its form on the famous Tsukuba Circuit in Japan.  Here this car recorded the fastest time ever for a front wheel drive car with a time of 1minute 4.906 seconds which is incredible on a short track that normally suits rear wheel driven car.

While the previous Mugen Civic RR had its engine power rated at 240 PS, Mugen managed to extract an additional 20 PS and a healthier torque of 237 Nm at 6750rpm with the Advanced Concept Civic.

What Mugen has done is tweaking the Type R’s K20A inline four engine, boring and stroking it to take displacement out to 2157 cc. With further gas flowed cylinder heads, high-lift cams, bespoke exhaust manifolds, big bore titanium exhaust system and an ECU remap, all these contribute towards the power hike to an almost supercar-baiting performance (taking weight factor into consideration) of 260 PS at a screaming 8250 rpm.

The view under the bonnet is dominated again by carbon fibre, with the air box and cylinder head covers matching the interior trim inlays and of course the body panels.

To cope with the extreme speed the Mugen Honda Civic RR Advanced Concept is capable of, the vented brake disc has increased to 340 mm diameter on the front compared to 320 mm in the RR. The retardation they provide would be most welcome making all the difference to driver confidence when they are pressing on.

Mugen opted for their own 18 inch wheels and shod with 225/40 rubber because it really looks good on the Civic. But to deploy a lot of power well on normal roads, you need good suspension compliance. Thanks to a well chosen spring (titanium) and damper rates which the company specially tuned for this car, it should give a welcome degree of suppleness despite its firmer settings and the big wheels giving a fine balance between mechanical grip and ride quality.

Mugen's modification to the interior would be simply put as being plain, but functional. There's carbon fibre trim on the doors along with other specialty equipment goods from Mugen which also includes the handy yellow 9,000rpm gauge cluster, shift knob, light weight buckets seats, and an integrated roll cage, again covered with carbon fibre.

There's no word at the moment whether this car would be available in a low-volume production car. The previous Mugen Civic RR had a run of 300 units, produced for the Japanese market with some making its way to our shore. But if you're bent on building one, the good news is that Mugen does make aftermarket components for the Honda Civic Type R, than perhaps you can replicate the Mugen Honda Civic RR Advanced Concept yourself.

With the 'normal' Civic Type R, you can't hardly call it lacking in overall performance, but if you really want more, look no further than Mugen's latest pocket rocket, the Civic RR Advanced Concept which would provide a more focussed driving experience.