A BATTLE royale for hot-hatch supremacy is brewing with next year’s release of an all-new Honda Civic Type R.

Dubbed “the start of a new performance era”, the embattled Japanese brand is really whetting our appetites for what it also describes as its “most extreme” car ever, throwing down the gauntlet to the leading triumvirate of pocket rocket runabouts, the Volkswagen Golf GTI, Renault Megane RS 275 and Ford Focus ST

Officially mooted at the Geneva Motor Show back in March as the Type R Concept, Honda used last month’s Paris Salon to further tease enthusiasts with a few more spec details about the upcoming British-built production model that will debut internationally at the 2015 Geneva event.