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The Honda Civic Type R is being pulled from sale in the UK and Europe due to increasingly stringent legislation – bowing out with a new special edition that commemorates its 28-year production run.

Honda said it's removing the Type R from its line-up in 2026 because "the industry is changing and our model range is having to evolve with it in accordance with European legislation".

Although Honda hasn't been as explicit as to blame the EU’s General Safety Regulation 2 (GSR2), which mandates the fitment of kit such as driver attention monitoring and a speed limit warning buzzer, it's most likely the reason for the model’s early demise.

GSR2 contains a provision allowing non-compliant cars with fewer than 1500 sales annually to remain until July 2026. This coincides with the end date for European availability of the Civic Type R.

The same legislation is to blame for the early demise of the Toyota GR86 and, once the exemption window closes, will also kill the Alpine A110.

The decision to pull the Civic Type R from sale will also ease the pressure on Honda in the face of Europe's increasingly stringent fleet CO2 emissions standards, given it's one of the brand’s higher polluters: it produces 189g/km of CO2, compared with the 114g/km produced by the regular Civic.

The Ultimate Edition is intended to celebrate the legacy of the Civic Type R as it bows out in Europe, having first arrived as a grey import some 28 years ago. 

It's painted in the signature Championship White shade, with contrasting red racing stripes calling to the model’s traditional interior colour.

Inside, there's an abundance of carbonfibre details, such as on the door skidplates and around the centre console.

Pricing has yet to be announced, but it's likely to cost notably more than the regular Civic Type R (£48,900).

Only 40 will be built in total, with 10 of those bound for the UK. These will be sold on a first come, first serve basis, Honda said. 

It's the latest in a series of hot hatches to have been axed in the UK and Europe: Autocar last week reported the demise of the Focus ST, and that followed the Hyundai i30 N, pulled from sale last year.

Few front-driven, petrol-powered hot hatches remaIn, such as the stalwart Volkswagen Golf GTI, the smaller Volkswagen Polo GTI, the Mini Cooper S and its hotter sibling, the John Cooper Works. 

The four-wheel-drive hatch market is in a healthier state, comprising cars such as the Golf R, Toyota GR Yaris and Mercedes-AMG A45 S, but all are threatened by emissions regulations and several brands' moves to electric performance cars.

The Civic Type R's run in the UK spanned 28 years and six generations – although the first (launched in late 1997) wasn't officially offered by Honda UK, rather a grey import from Japan.

The second-generation model arrived in 2001 with a 2.0-litre naturally aspirated four-pot producing 197bhp. It was built in Swindon and indirectly replaced the Integra Type R that had been offered in the UK between 1997 and 2001.

It was an immediate hit, thanks to a well-judged chassis set-up, a superb free-revving engine and a relatively low price, and it remains among the most affordable examples of the hot hatch.

The UFO-like Mk3 was launched in 2007. Europe got an entirely different model to Japan, with a radical coupé-like silhouette, rather than the saloon body offered in its home market.

It retained the great 2.0-litre powerplant but was 134kg heavier and had less sophisicated rear suspension so was something of a letdown – especially compared with the Japanese version, which was both lighter and more powerful.

The fourth-generation car landed in 2015 and marked a return to form, retaining its tearaway character dsepite adopting a turbocharger.

The fifth and sixth generations brought further refinements and are widely regarded as being among the finest driver's cars of the modern age.

Volvo has invented a new type of seatbelt that could dramatically improve in-car safety - again.

The firm, which pioneered the use of the three-point belt, has revealed a new 'multi-adaptive safety belt', which uses sensors to analyse an occupant's height, weight, body shape and seating position and responds accordingly in the event of a crash. 

A larger occupant will receive a higher belt load, Volvo said, to reduce the risk of head injury, while it will respond less severely to smaller passengers to lessen the impact on their ribs.

The system – developed in collaboration with ZF Lifetech – will also respond differently according to the nature of the impact, gathering data from around the car "in less than the blink of an eye" to determine how much force the seatbelt should apply. 

Today's seatbelts use load limiters to change the amount of force applied by the seatbelt, with three 'load-limiting profiles' available. Volvo's new device ups that to 11.

The new Volvo EX60 electric SUV, due next year, will be first to feature the new belts, and Volvo said over-the-air software updates will mean "it gets better over time". 

As Volvo gathers more crash safety data, "the car can improve its understanding of the occupants, new scenarios and response strategies". 

Åsa Haglund, who runs Volvo Cars' Safety Centre, said: "The world first multi-adaptive safety belt is another milestone for automotive safety and a great example of how we leverage real-time data with the ambition to help save millions of more lives.

“This marks a major upgrade to the modern three-point safety belt, a Volvo invention introduced in 1959, estimated to have saved over a million lives.”

The new seatbelt's unveiling coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Safety Centre, where Volvo can "recreate almost any traffic accident and perform tests that exceed regulatory requirements for real-world safety". 

Honda will launch a wave of new hybrid models powered by what it calls “the world’s most efficient” combustion powertrain in response to lagging EV sales.

At least 13 new Hondas will arrive between 2027 and 2030 in a revised range of hybrids that could kick off with replacements for today’s Civic and Jazz.

The new electrified combustion cars will help the company to navigate the “transition period” until electric cars are suitable for mass-adoption. The move is a response to the speed of changeover to EVs, which has so far been slower than Honda expected.

Announcing the strategic rethink recently, Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe noted that “demand for hybrid-electric vehicles is growing”, while “the expansion of the EV market has fallen behind the initial projection”.

Mibe suggested the relaxation of CO2 emissions and EV sales targets in the US were to blame for the slower than expected growth of EVs, because these were “the main premise for the widespread adoption of EVs”.

Honda has not said which cars will be first to receive the new powertrain but has confirmed that it will come in 1.5- and 2.0-litre forms. That matches the capacities of the engines in the current Jazz and Civic, which are both due substantial updates in the coming years.

The 1.5-litre version will provide peak torque over a rev range that’s 40% broader than currently to maximise efficiency without compromising grunt. Both variants will deliver the best thermal performance of any combustion engine on the market, claims Honda. Meanwhile, the hybrid system’s electric motor is being slimmed down to reduce weight and improve packaging.

Combined, the new developments will yield a 10% improvement in fuel economy. For reference, the current 1.5-litre Jazz returns 62.8mpg while the 2.0-litre Civic manages 56.5mpg.

The arrival of the two powertrains will coincide with a new platform that promises improvements in driver engagement, comfort and safety. For medium-sized cars, it will be 90kg lighter than the current structure and the bodies applied to the frame will bring a further 10% saving in mass. 

Cost-cutting is also a key directive in the development of Honda’s upcoming cars. Models based on the new platform will share at least 60% of their parts, such as the engine bay and rear floor. The new hybrid powertrains, meanwhile, will be 30% cheaper to produce than those launched in 2023.

Despite cutting its planned investment into EVs by £15.4 billion (to £51bn in total) and losing £3bn on them last year, Honda remains committed to EV development. “We would like to see the battery EV business as a pillar of our business from 2030 onward,” CEO Toshihiro Mibe told investors.

The 0 Series of electric cars due to be launched in the US next year represents an effective reset of the company’s approach to the market, after it suffered setbacks with the E hatchback and e:Ny1 crossover. Honda will start by launching a boxy SUV and a futuristic saloon, followed by a seven-seater, small- and medium-sized crossovers and a saloon to rival the Tesla Model 3.

This range signals the future of the brand. They will usher in a radical design language that will not be shared with the hybrids, though the new Honda emblem that was due to be exclusive to the 0 Series will now be rolled out across the line-up.

Toshinobu Minami, head of Honda’s design centre, told Autocar: “Hybrid and combustion models are going to be different in terms of design but dynamic and simple will be key words for all models in future.”