Australia has given us lager, soap operas and Kylie Minogue. But be prepared for the sound of crikey, what a beaut, and strewth as Britain sends one of its most celebrated cars Down Under: the Honda Civic Type R.

The first shipment of Swindon-built Civic Type Rs arrived in Melbourne earlier this month. Now en route to dealers, lucky Australians will be able to get their hands on one from 1 July.

Australia is the only country outside Europe to get the acclaimed hot hatch with sales forecast to be 1,200 units per year. Offering a rewarding drive and top speed of 146mph, the high-revving Type R looks set to make Oz even hotter.

Honda of the UK Manufacturing (HUM), based in Swindon, is the only Honda production facility to build the Civic Type R; 12,500 will be built there between now and April 2008. In addition, HUM also builds the 5-door Civic, Civic Type S and CR-V for Europe.

With the planned expansion at HUM on track, Swindon will be operating at full capacity by the end of the year, and will soon be producing 250,000 cars per annum.

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