DESPITE closing its Swindon production lines for a couple of months to combat the effects of the credit crunch, Honda has its eyes firmly fixed on a bright future.

Not only is it proposing to produce 500 models a year of its limited edition white wonder - the new Civic Type R in Championship White - the Japanese car maker has confirmed its intention to pursue fuel cell technology as its major research programme into new ways of attaining a greener means of automotive power.

Greener it may be but Honda has no intention of letting performance slip.

Although it's not promising a hydrogen powered Type R, the new Championship White special feels as if it is rocket fuel in the tank.

Personally, I am not a fan of white cars and don't subscribe to the theory that it is the new silver. That... // Hamilton Advertiser news