Last Thursday (July 6th), Vern Eide Honda of Sioux Falls, South Dakota hosted a small party for the reveal of their first 2017 Honda Civic Type R. Naturally I had to go because it could be a long time before another Type R makes it to Sioux Falls and, more importantly, drives the streets of Sioux Falls.

When I got there Vern Eide had a nice spread of catered food, a beer cart, and a few cars from Honda’s performance lineage. There was a new 2017 Honda Civic Si, a blue on blue Honda S2000, a 2016 Acura NSX, and the roped off guest of honor, the Civic Type R. We did find it comical that the $34,000 Civic was roped off and the $180,000 NSX was left open, but also understood because the Type R already had an owner. But both are staples of performance! The new Type R is the first Type R’d Honda in America in over 20 years, is the most powerful front wheel drive production car on the planet, and the most powerful Honda ever released stateside. Props where props are due.

Speaking of owners, this Championship White Type R was already sold to a buyer in Minneapolis, which means we won’t be seeing this one around town. I also learned from chatting with the employees that each dealership is only allowed 2 Type R’s for this model year because of the limited numbers. It would be nice if someone in Sioux Falls could hurry and scoop up an all black one for me to take pictures of!

I was also excited for this reveal because I really wanted to see one up close. Maybe this is my near 30-year-old self (I’m not 30 yet!) talking, but the Type R is a little… ugly. Things I’m not crazy about is that there are vents that work and vents that don’t, scoops here and scoops there, one big wing and one little wing, three tail pipes, and plenty of carbon fiber that isn’t real. Things I do like are the red stripe that goes all around the base, the standard black wheels, the red Honda and Type R badges, the headlights, and the entire interior. It’s honestly a bit overwhelming to look at but at the same time it has every single thing by 16 year old self would have wanted on his Honda Civic. If I was allowed to change one thing and one thing only, I think making the 2017 Civic Type R a two door hatch instead of a 4-door…thing…would vastly improve its appearance.

However, I have no doubt that this car is amazing to drive and the owner is going to be extremely happy with it. Plus, since it’s based around the 2017 Honda Civic Si, which I like a lot, it will be just fine as a daily driver. Hell, at the end of the day this owner has a Type R and we don’t! Check out all of my pictures of the Type R, NSX, and S2000 below and let me know your thoughts below!