Honda unveils stunning new Civic

Honda upstaged the New York Auto Show on Wednesday with a sharp new redesign of its Civic and vows to take its popular compact car back to its performance roots."This is the return of the sporty Civic," says John Mendel, Honda's executive vice president in the US. The company also announced a new turbocharged engine and more variants of the design — including a performance version and hatchback — than ever before.

The 10th-generation appearance abandons the cab-forward design that the Civic has had for years to give it a long hood and sense of more power. The new one is a little longer and wider. In front there are new LED running lights and in back, a new wrap-around taillight design. Yet even with the changes, the car still has the unmistakable look of a Civic.

The goal was to create "the most charismatic, most ambitious and most fun-to-drive and sportiest Civic we've ever made," says Guy Melville-Brown, who led the US design team in the creation of the car expected to sell around the world.

While only a concept version of the coupe was shown, the first next-generation Civic to go on sale will be the sedan in the fall. Mendel said the production version of what he calls the "epic Civic" will hew closely to the looks of the concept. The coupe and hatchback will follow.