Canadian-Built Safety Car Makes Debut at Honda Indy Toronto

TORONTO (July 6, 2011) – The all-new, Canadian-built 2012 Honda Civic Si Coupe will take on new duties as a Safety Car for the IZOD IndyCar Series, beginning this weekend at the Honda Indy Toronto.

The 201-horsepower Honda Civic Si Coupe was recently transformed by Honda Performance Development (HPD), Honda's racing subsidiary in Los Angeles, into an official IZOD IndyCar Series Safety Car.

Modifications to the already high-performance stock Civic Si include Sparco seats and four-point racing harnesses; an HPD high-performance brake system with four-piston calipers, competition rotors, racing pads and stainless brake lines; a Honda Genuine Accessory aerodynamic body kit consisting of front, side and rear under spoilers; and Firestone Firehawk 225/40 R18 tires mounted on Enkei alloy wheels.

An exclusive graphics theme completes the conversion from a showroom Civic Si Coupe to an IZOD IndyCar Series Safety Car. The Safety Car will be driven during IZOD IndyCar Series events by three-time Indianapolis 500 Mile Race champion Johnny Rutherford.

"The high-performance new Honda Civic Si is the perfect match for the IndyCar Safety Car fleet," said Jerry Chenkin, executive vice president of Honda Canada Inc. "With its larger and more powerful 2.4-litre engine and enhancements provided by HPD, it is ready to lead the IZOD IndyCar Series field at the Honda Indy Toronto and beyond."

Unveiled in April at the New York International Auto Show, the 2012 Honda Civic features more streamlined and expressive "mono-form" exterior styling, wrapped around a spacious cabin with more style and convenience. Available new technology features include an intelligent, Multi-Information Display (i-MID), USB audio interface, Bluetooth® HandsFree Link® and a satellite-linked Navigation System with voice recognition and FM traffic.