Once upon a time, “forbidden fruit” dotted the global automotive landscape. These legendary special edition cars were reserved by automakers only for their certain special markets.

In most instances, the US was not one of them.

Names such as the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, Subaru Impreza WRX STI, and Nissan Skyline GT-R come to mind.

With globalization in full swing, these models are now widely available around the world.

On Tuesday, the world got a little smaller once again.

At the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, Honda unveiled its new 10th generation Civic Type R that will finally be available in the US.

“The fastest, most powerful Honda ever sold in America, the Type R caps off the incredible success story of our 10th generation Civic lineup,” American Honda Motor Co. senior vice president, Jeff Conrad said in a statement. “We’re happy to inform our US enthusiasts that the long wait for the forbidden fruit of Honda Type R performance is nearly over!”

The Type R, long regarded as one of the kingpins of the hot hatch market, is expected to live up to its lofty reputation.

Under the hood of the five-door hatchback is a Ohio-built 2.0 litre, turbocharged inline-four-cylinder engine pushing out 306 horsepower and 295 lb.-ft. of torque. The powerful engine is mated to a six-speed manual transmission driving the front wheels through a limited slip differential.

Performance upgrades on the Type R include a brand new Dual-Axis front suspension along with adaptive steering and a four-wheel adaptive dampers. In addition, Honda has stiffed to new Type R’s body by as much as 45% while reducing weight by 35 pounds.

Inside, the Civic Type R is available with a touchscreen infotainment system, a 12-speaker, 540 watt stereo, and heavily bolstered sports seats.

Developed at Germany’s infamous Nürburgring race track, the Civic Type R will compete directly against Ford’s awesome Focus RS and VW’s stalwart Golf R.

The 2017 Honda Civic Type will go on sale this spring in the US with a price tag in the mid $US30,000 range.

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