1) Honda Civic Type R
Eleven generations of Honda Civic have bred six different iterations of Civic Type R. Each and every one uses a 2.0-liter four-cylinder VTEC, and since the second-gen EP3 ‘Breadvan,’ that VTEC has been identified by a K20 engine code.
But it’s the latest and greatest FL5 Civic Type R we’ve picked here. Equipped with a turbocharger for monstrous 325hp and 420Nm—put through only the front axle!—it ranks honorably among the greatest hot hatches ever.
2) Alpine A110
A modest 1.8-liter turbo-four that didn’t exactly ignite our flame in the third-gen Megane RS is elevated toward greatness in the middle of its daintier Alpine cousin.
It makes a pleasingly rorty sound whichever spec you opt for, but props must go to the end-of-the-line A110 Ultime, which uses GT4 race-car internals for a 340hp peak if you can find 102-octane fuel. And a still useful 321hp if not…
3) Prodrive P25
The throaty warble of a four-cylinder boxer engine—whether on song or merely at idle—is among the most recognizable in the business. In recent years, it has emanated from Toyota 86s and Porsche 718s, but the car your mind surely draws up—each and every time you hear it—is an EJ-powered Subaru Impreza.
Preferably a stock original ’90s Turbo or a rally refugee 22B, but just about anything with a whiff of WRX or STI about it pleases us, and the 450hp Prodrive P25 restomod is the most unhinged of the lot.
4) Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth
Plenty of Fords could have made the grade here, but this is the wildest-looking and wildest-performing of the lot. The Sierra RS500 was spun from motorsport regulations, designed for Group A glory and the eventual recipient of more Touring Car titles than it knew how to polish. It also won the 1987 Nürburgring 24 Hours, fact fans.
Cosworth’s heavily re-engineered (and now turbocharged) 2.0-liter ‘YB’ engine produced 224hp in roadgoing homologation form, but over twice that in some competition specs.
5) Mercedes-Benz 190E Evo II
Another car whose story involves Group A rules, the initial 190E 2.3-16 sedan borrowed Cosworth thinking to produce 182hp on road or around 300hp on track. It was granted instant icon status when it was used for an all-stars one-make race at the Nürburgring, then-upstart Ayrton Senna taking the victory.
The engine grew to 2.5 liters for subsequent Evo and Evo II iterations, which cranked up both body muscle and power, peaking at 232hp in road-legal form. It took the 190E’s whole life to win a championship—but the competition 190E Evo II did that in style by scooping DTM title honors in 1992. And there’s now a very pricey restomod that pays tribute.
6) BMW E30 M3
A two-time DTM title winner and the 190E’s toughest foe—together, the pair spurred each other onto greatness in both showrooms and race paddocks. Those willing to really get stuck in consider it one of M Division’s greatest ever cars, but its highly strung S14 engine—peaking at 2.5 liters and 235hp in road-going Sport Evolution trim—needs a lot more stirring than a modern straight-six or V8, while its driver must calibrate around a tricky dog-leg manual gearshift.
But crikey, do they look good (and cost an unfathomable amount of money) today.
7) Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport S
Volkswagen’s EA888 engine family has been with us for almost two decades now, its most famous application being the 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo peppered across a spectrum of Golfs, Cupras, Octavias, and S3s.
Peak output is 328hp in the current Leon VZ3 and Golf R, but peak EA888 is surely the slimmed-down, ’Ring-crushing Golf GTI Clubsport S special. A near-perfect car.
8) Renault Megane R26.R
Or how about the original, slimmed-down, ’Ring-crushing hot hatchback? The Renault Sport Megane R26.R arguably is perfection, though the car launched to an unconvinced market that simply couldn’t fathom paying a premium for a three-door hatch with plastic windows and a bright red ’cage where its back seats should...sit.
Using a turbocharged version of the F4R engine from a bunch of iconic Clios, the 227hp and 310Nm of the Megane’s F4RT (yep) hustled its scant 1.2 tons to a 8min 17sec Nordschleife time—quicker than a contemporary Vanquish.
9) Mercedes-AMG A45 S
The big stat here is ‘specific output.’ Squeezing 415hp out of a 1,991cc four-cylinder engine—and therefore 208hp/liter, when a GMA T.50 hypercar claims 165—is no mean feat, but if AMG does a hot hatch, it clearly does it properly.
Much of the attention directed at the A45 concerns its drift mode or wild aero kit, but the almighty M139 squeezed beneath its stubby bonnet is the real hero. The appearance of a similar unit in the controversial C63 hybrid? Let’s move swiftly on.
10) Kimera EVO37
TopGear.com’s reigning Performance Car of the Year is a stunner that channels the spirit of two other highly thrilling four-cylinder heroes into one, mesmeric product. Visually, the EVO37 cribs off the Lancia 037 road and rally car, one which deployed a 2.1-liter supercharged unit for a peak of 321hp. That was replaced by the Delta S4, which used a smaller 1.8-liter engine with supercharging and turbocharging for almost 500hp.
Both would ably make this list if Luca Betti hadn’t combined the former’s size and the latter’s twin-charging to produce a 550hp piece of art that’s fully road legal. What a thing.
11) Lotus Elise S1
Driving a Lotus Elise ought to be a bucket-list experience, a car that any true gearhead dabbles with at least once during their time on this planet. Early Elise S1s sourced a 1.8-liter K-series engine from Rover with just 118hp—but their slim weight and chassis majesty transformed supermini power levels into a superstar driving experience.
Power peaked at 187hp in the track-prepped Elise Sport 190 and the manic 340R ‘moon buggy.’
12) Honda Integra Type R
Yep, another Honda to bookend proceedings. The FL5 Civic may be a true modern icon, but the purest, most thrilling Type R of them all remains the late ’90s Integra. With 187bhp and no turbo, it offers little more than half the power of its modern hot-hatch relation, but it compensates with a nape-prickling 8,700 rev limit and a FWD driving experience so raw and intense, you’ll wonder why anyone bothered with RWD performance cars afterwards.
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
