Lately, there have been rumors Honda’s version of the Civic compact hatch sold overseas will be offered in the U.S. in the near future, raising hopes that the Civic Type R performance flagship will come with it. Things really heated up when a prototype for the new Civic Type R was spotted testing on U.S. soil, not too far from a factory where Honda plans to build new turbocharged four-cylinder engines.

Now, the Nikkei is reporting that Honda will start selling its European Civic in North America by as early as the summer of 2016. Part of the reason is to help utilize idle capacity at the car’s plant in Swindon, England, which is already 100,000 units under capacity at present and is expected to lose production of the Fit subcompact to a plant in Japan in the near future.

READ OUR FIRST DRIVE OF A CIVIC TYPE R PROTOTYPE

The European Civic is available as a hatch or station wagon, though only the former is expected here. The Nikkei is reporting that between 30,000 and 40,000 of the hatchbacks may be imported here annually, to sell alongside the sedan and coupe versions of our own Civic.

Bringing over the Civic Type R, which made its debut at the recent Geneva Motor Show, would go a long way towards getting people talking about the car. It would also offer Honda fans in the U.S. a proper rival for the Volkswagen Golf R, Subaru WRX STI and new Ford Focus RS.

Stay tuned for an update.

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