Tomica Limited Vintage Neo (LV-N48) - Honda Civic SiR-II

This is a 1/64 scale die cast scale model of Honda Civic SiR-II produced by TomyTec (which in a way is Takara Tomy or Tomica) thru their "Tomica Limited Vintage Neo" series.

The Honda Civic is a line of subcompact and subsequently compact cars made manufactured by the popular Japanese automaker, Honda. The Civic, along with the Accord and Prelude, comprised Honda's vehicles sold until the 1990s, when the model lineup was expanded. Having gone through several generational changes, the Civic has become larger and more upmarket, and it currently slots between the Fit and Accord.

Originally introduced to the market in July 1972 as a two-door model, followed by a three-door hatchback with the transverse engine mounting of its 1169 cc engine and front-wheel drive like the British Mini, the car provided good interior space despite overall small dimensions.

Early models of the Civic typically included a basic AM radio, heater, foam-cushioned plastic trim, two-speed wipers, and painted steel rims with a chromed wheel nut cap. As the years went by, it has become much more upscale with options such as air conditioning, power locks, power windows, leather upholstery, satellite-linked navigation, and a six-speed manual transmission. Initially gaining a reputation for being fuel-efficient, reliable, and environmentally friendly, later iterations have become known for performance and sportiness, especially the Civic Type-R, Civic GTi and Civic SiR.

The scale model that we will review here is from the 6th generation featured updated styling although less radical than previous redesigns. Suspension and engine options were available. All base models were made with 1.6L engines. The EX-CX are all SOHC (Honda D engine). The CX, DX, and LX all have D16y7 non-VTEC engines; whereas the EX has a D16y8 VTEC, and the HX has D16y5 VTEC-E. The Si came with a DOHC (B16A2 VTEC). The first civic SI coupe EM1 was introduced in 1999. Europe saw a DOHC 1.6 VTI hatch and sedan and a DOHC 1.8VTI engine was also available.


The box/packaging;








Now, let's have a look at this car;













The exterior detailing for this "Tomica Limited Vintage Neo" is very good. The painting finishing for this particular model is excellent as well. As you can see from the picture below, the lights parts were made using plastic instead of just using paintings;





On the side of the body, you can see the words "VTEC DOHC" and at the center of the wheels you can see the familiar insignia "H" which means "Honda".... obviously right?







On the rear you can see the word "Civic SiR;






The interior details is sealed, there is no openable door but from what I can see it is quite good, much better than those from the normal "Tomica" series and "Tomica Limited" series.







That's how it looks like underneath the body;




Overall, this is a very nicely detailed Honda Civic VTi at 1/64 scale. The painting finishing is brilliant, the exterior detailing is great and even though there is no openable door but from the very little that I can observe on the interior, it seems that they did a good job on the interior detailing as well, considering the mini scale of this model. It's pretty hard to get this now and the only way is probably thru e-bay at a decently marked up price.






The Civic SiR-II (yellow) with the Civic VTi (black);

I'm not really a car expert but from some research I made through the internet forums, many people said the differences between Civic VTi and this Civic SiR-II are as below (I compiled them all together and try my best to sort it out accordingly);


Civic EF B16A (Jpn) 160bhp
Civic EF B16A1(Eur) 150bhp

Civic EG B16A (Jpn) 170bhp
Civic EG B16A2 (Eur) 160bhp

Civic EK B16A (Jpn) 170bhp
Civic EK B16A2 (Eur) 160bhp

The SiR would have: Traction control, Recaros bucket seat and possibly optional LSD and it is also likely to be slightly lighter than the VTi.

Only the SiR-II comes with 170 bhp engine in the EK4 series. Those from the EG6 series are all the same 160 bhp.

Civic VTi has B16A2 engine with 10.2 compression ratio (REV limiter is 8200 rpm) that produces 160 HP@7600 rpm.

Honda Civic SiR (and should be the same for SiR-II) gets 10.4 compression ratio and able to produce 170HP@7800rpm with different intake CAM and ECU program as the Rev limiter is 8400 rpm).

The differences in engine would be the compression level and the SiR comes with a slightly more aggressive mapped ECU Revs and the output is slightly higher if compared to the VTi.

There are some interior as well and exterior differences though it is not really drastic but still noticeable. There are also rumors saying SiR-II have 2stage VTEC over the normal SiR.

*I do not claimed any credits or rights on the above information which I compiled from various forums. The above information is not from Honda and they are for information and sharing purpose only.

And now the Honda Civic Type-R Euro joined the "seniors";






And the magnificent Honda S2000 joined the party as well;

Together, they formed the "Team Shewsbury Honda" that appear in the movie "Fast & Furious 6 - The pork saga" LOL LOL LOL......

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