When Honda revealed its new Civic Tourer we thought it’s practical, well-built, well-appointed, and slightly ugly. It never occurred to us that there is a race car underneath that chubby body. But now Honda Yuasa Racing has revealed this, the 2014 Honda Civic Tourer BTCC race car, being prepared for competition next season.

The Civic is not a stranger to the British Touring Car Championship, and neither are Yuasa drivers, Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden. But the tourer version will be only estate car on the BTCC grid next year, which is interesting. It reminds us of the old days when Volvo used to race an estate car in the BTCC. It was a pretty awesome spectacle.

They didn’t reveal any details on the Honda Civic Tourer BTCC Racer technical bits and bobs, because, well, it’s a race car with standard racing specs. The drivers, however, did comment on the new car and they seem pretty chuffed about it:

Gordon Shedden said: “2013 was an incredibly competitive season in the BTCC with the championship battle going right down to the wire! Of course it was disappointing not to retain the drivers title but we’re looking forward to what I’m sure will be a strong year for the team in 2014 – and more excitingly, with a new car. It might be a Tourer, but it’s still a Civic, the car that has won every championship in BTCC for the last three seasons. I’m really looking forward to the challenge of next season, and to seeing what the Tourer can do on race day.”

Matt Neal added: “We’re all confident that the car can continue the long-standing success of the Civic in the championship and very much looking forward to putting it through its paces. Although we’re racing a new model, the inherent advantages of the Civic hatchback from the past two years remain so there’s no reason why this car can’t be a winner straight out of the box! We’ll be testing the car early in the new year and I can’t wait to see it on track.”