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Honda flaunts freshened 2014 Civic Coupe at SEMA

Honda took the wraps off its 2014 Civic Coupe (red car pictured above) and 2014 Civic Si (gray car in the gallery below) at SEMA today, revealing a mid-cycle refresh for each model. The standard Civic coupe benefits from several cosmetic enhancements, while the Civic Si gets the bulk of its improvements under the hood - precisely where the enthusiasts want them.
The best-selling Civic Coupe sports a new front fascia that is "fun and sporty," says the automaker. The more aggressive snout is a step in the proper direction, as its new shape and exclusive grille design gives the two-door a distinctive appearance that sets it apart from its sedan sibling. The rear end follows the same design language, as the lower portion of the urethane bumper gains some character - its smooth surface has been resculpted and recontoured. Newly available 18-inch wheels complete the exterior transformation.
The 2014 Civic Si benefits from a larger spoiler and new wheels, but the big news is in the powertrain. Honda has massaged the 2.4-liter i-VTEC engine and opened up the exhaust system. As a result, output climbs to 205 horsepower (up from 201) and torque increases to 174 pound-feet (up from 170). The power gains aren't extraordinary, but they should allow the coupe to hit 60 miles per hour from a standstill in about six seconds flat and still return over 30 mpg on the open road. Scroll down for the official release.

Honda Civic will show its hatchback in Geneva

Honda is bringing a conceptual look at the new Civic Hatchback to next week's Geneva Motor Show. But we think it'll be that in name only – Honda has a history of showing very production-looking 'concepts'. Given these recent spy shots, showing a very well-developed, five-door Civic, the production model should arrive before we know it. The new Civic is a seriously pretty car, and from some angles the four-door sedan already has a hatch-like appearance. We love the look of this cobbled-together prototype; the rounded-off rump in no way ruins the Honda's lines. There's even a center-mounted exhaust, which makes us super happy, though that might just be reserved for more powerful Si or Type R models. Standard five-door Civics will probably use the same engine lineup as the rest of the range – a naturally aspirated, 2.0-liter inline-four on the base end, and a turbocharged, 1.5-liter four in higher trims. Honda's also working on a turbo/manual pairing, which will likely be our powertrain du jour. We'll get a sort-of-conceptual look at the Civic Hatchback next week. Until then, scroll through the gallery of spy shots up top to see this little cutie from all angles. Related Video:

Race recap: 2015 British Grand Prix is a testament to timing

In front of his home crowd, Lewis Hamilton actually had to work for pole position at the British Formula One Grand Prix. The World Champion couldn't get on top of the setup for his Mercedes-AMG Petronas on Friday, lapping behind teammate Nico Rosberg and the two Ferraris. Come Saturday, after a few alterations and a whole lot of wing to clamp down on understeer, Hamilton returned to his regular program at the front, taking pole position by just over a tenth of a second from his teammate. Williams, thought to be headed for another stretch in the weeds a few races ago, showed its best strength all year. The Grove team got both cars on the second row and in front of the Ferraris, Felipe Massa qualifying ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottas, but they were eight and nine tenths behind the Mercedes'. Kimi Raikkonen out-qualified Ferrari teammate Sebastian Vettel for the second time this year, and only the first time in a straight-up battle with two healthy cars. But more than a second behind the two cars at the front, and with two nearly-impossible-to-pass Williams' in front, neither the Finn nor the German is happy with where they are. Daniil Kvyat claimed seventh, his side of the garage at Infiniti Red Bull Racing having got through the weekend to that point without a single complaint about their Renault power unit. Carlos Sainz, Jr. put a single Toro Rosso inside the top ten in eighth position, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg who did the same for Sahara Force India by slotting in ninth. The second Infiniti Red Bull driven by Daniel Ricciardo did have an unspecified engine complaint – his car kept "bleeding power" on the straights – but even so he managed to qualify tenth with his second-fastest lap. The stewards deleted his best lap because he ran three centimeters outside the track limits at Copse, an infraction that stung a few other drivers as well. Up in front, what would sting the Mercedes-AMG Petronas drivers the most was the start. That's when a dearth of grip struck both Hamilton and Rosberg, allowing Massa and Bottas to slide right up the middle between them and take the first two places. The leapfrogging was so surprising that it looked like the Mercedes drivers were giving the Williams drivers a head start. They diced through the first corners, Hamilton sliding past Bottas into second place halfway through the lap. And then the safety car reported for duty.