The first U.S.-spec Honda Civic Type R finally has an owner – and is someone who paid a small fortune to have VIN 001. The hot hatch was auctioned off online at Bring a Trailer, and after eight days of bidding – 22 bids came in for the car – the winning bid turned out to be a cool $200,000, making the Civic Type R the most expensive Honda Civic ever sold at an auction.

The winning price is head and shoulders above the car’s actual price of just $33,900, but there is that distinction that comes with owning the first U.S.-bound Honda Civic Type R in history. Whether that’s worth a cool $200,000 is a question that only the winning bidder can answer. The good news is that the full proceeds from the auction isn’t going anywhere but to a worthy cause. In this case, the beneficiary is the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, an organization the Japanese automaker has supported for 26 years. Jeff Conrad, Senior VP American Honda Motor Co. said, "We thought it would be fun to offer one lucky customer a shot at owning the first of its kind in America while benefitting the leading nonprofit solely dedicated to finding a cure for childhood brain tumors, the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.” Does seem like the price could’ve gone a little higher now, doesn’t it?

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Is it worth it to spend $200,000 on a Honda Civic Type R?

If I’m simply paying for the distinction of owning the first U.S.-spec Honda Civic Type R, then I can tell you without a hint of doubt that I’m not spending that amount for the car knowing that I could get one anyway for a fraction of the cost. While I do understand the urge to do it – there is a kind of bragging right you can wave around for owning a car as special as this one – I just can’t do it, especially in the political and economic climate we’re in today.

To be clear, I don’t take it against the person who made that winning bid for spending that much on the Civic Type R. There is a saying in consumer goods circle that the price of a commodity is neither cheap nor expensive, it depends on how much you think it’s worth. Clearly, the winning bidder thought that $200,000 would be a good price for the first production Honda Civic Type R. He put in the bid and he won with it so I don’t expect him to back off the purchase anytime soon.

Besides, auctions with this kind of setting where proceeds go to a worthy recipient, I can’t complain about how much the Civic Type R eventually sold for. All proceeds do go to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation so I consider that a good way to spend $200,000. The fact that the first-ever U.S.-bound Honda Civic Type R goes with it makes it look as if the car’s actually a side piece prize to the winner of the auction.

Here’s another bit of good news for those who lost out on the chance to own the first production, U.S.-spec Honda Civic Type R. The actual hot hatch will hit dealerships soon, possibly in a month’s time, and whoever wants to get one won’t have to shell out that much money to get it. Either way, it’s just exciting to see that the Honda Civic Type R is finally arriving. We’ve waited long enough for the hot hatch to get here.

Read our full review on the Honda Civic Type R here.