The production version of Honda's ultra-hot hatch is here. FWD, a 269km/h top speed, utterly bonkers

Alongside the McLaren-Honda MP4-30 and new NSX, you could be forgiven for thinking that a mere hot hatch might be left quivering in the shadows.

But following its unveiling at an eve-of-Geneva-show soiree, it's distinctly possible that the production-ready, 306bhp Civic Type-R could turn out to be the most compelling part of Honda's three-pronged high-speed reversal out of mediocrity.

Why? Well, a senior Honda source reckons that aggressive pricing could put one of these on your driveway for less than SGD$600 per month in the UK.

That's seriously tempting, not least because the Civic Type-R is the fastest and most potent front-drive hatch ever. Top speed is 269km/h, and it'll do 0-100km/h in 5.7 seconds.

It also looks the absolute business. The hallowed Type-R badge is affixed to a body of wild aerodynamic effectiveness, the rear spoiler now heavily reprofiled compared to last year's concept iteration, the rear diffuser even deeper, all set off by quad exhausts.

At the front, there's a redesigned bumper, a large splitter, swollen wheelarches, and new intakes slashed into the front wings.

Yes, it's as subtle as being slammed in the face with a giant frying pan, but at least it proves that Honda's heart is still beating hard and fast. It also suggests that the Type-R's VTEC lump generates a lot of heat.

TopGear.com sampled that new 2.0-litre direct injection turbo engine in a pre-prod car - now confirmed at 306bhp and red-lined at 7000rpm - and did not find it wanting.

There is 400Nm from 2500rpm, so this is a new kind of groove from a company that was for so long addicted to a high-revving VTEC buzz. It promises to be extremely driveable.

All this goodness would still evaporate in a cloud of tyre smoke if the suspension wasn't beefed up accordingly: the Civic remains, don't forget, defiantly front-wheel drive.

Honda's answer is called the 'Dual Axis Strut', which adds an additional steering knuckle to the standard McPherson strut front end, the aim being to quell the unruly torque steer that 300bhp-plus through the front wheels traditionally heralds.

The Civic's unpromising torsion beam rear has been tuned too, to increase rigidity. There are also adaptive dampers on each corner, and a mechanical limited slip differential.

Should you find a B-road that hasn't actually been decimated by a chilly winter and council penury, you can turn the Type-R into a Type-R +R, this harder driving mode plumping up the torque map, increasing steering resistance, and beefing up the dampers. The tyres are bespoke 235/35R 19s, hiding a Brembo braking system whose drilled front discs are 350mm in diameter.

The cabin is equally uncompromising, with a machined alloy gear lever knob joining the dots to classic Type-R models like the epic late-Nineties Integra, and suede-effect, high-backed seats. Five exterior colours are available, none of which do much to mute the Civic's brilliantly outr?? exterior design.

The Type-R arrives this summer in the UK. Form a (dis)orderly queue.