Imagine being the second to last person to bid on this Honda Civic Type R and losing.
A new Japanese auction record for the 1997-2000 Honda Civic Type R was just set hours ago. According to Torque GT, a 2000 Honda Civic Type Rx EK9 sold for 7,640,000 Japanese Yen or $71,129.55. With low-miles and in excellent condition, auction watchers knew this Honda Civic Type R would auction for a lot, but not by this much.
Check out the typical grainy photo shots from Japanese auctions including that grading sheet below.
NEW ALL TIME RECORD for the 2,549km EK9 we shared yesterday. Record auction hammer price of ¥7,640,000 JPY (£57k / €62k / $71k)… We knew it would fetch a lot but even we were shocked by this result!@TypeROwners pic.twitter.com/DiO6Ys9ooR
— Torque GT (@TorqueGT) July 14, 2020
With only a handful hairline scratches around the body and a windshield imperfection, Japan’s auction house company awarded this EK9 a 4.5 out of a possible 5.
Just 1,583 miles on the odometer meant this Honda Civic Type R wasn’t wrapped up in a garage somewhere but has just the right amount of road mileage to keep vital parts, like the cooling system and rubber seals, well lubricated.
Type Rx added a CD player, electric mirrors, power windows, air conditioning, aluminium pedals, and a carbon fiber center panel.
While the Honda Civic Type R was a bone-jarring racecar for the streets without AC or even a radio, this more luxurious Rx gave up some weight savings to make the Honda Civic Type R slightly liveable.
Out of the 16,241 Honda Civic Type Rs ever made, 5,225 were Rx models making these particularly collectible.
The Rx model is arguably the progenitor to the modern day FK8 Honda Civic Type R, a Type R model that recognized the need for modern cars to have creature comforts at the expense being the ultimate expression of Type R.
According to EK9 enthusiasts on EK9.org, the 2000 Honda Civic Type Rx had an original MSRP of 2,189,000 yen or around $20,500. If this was a one-owner, talk about a return on investment.
As these Civic Type Rs increase in rarity over the years, a $100.000 Honda Civic Type R is not out of the realm of possibility.