(By Tom Lohnes) – The Honda Civic Type R is a storied vehicle. Starting in 1997, Japan has received the Civic Type R as a standard Civic hatch with literally everything beefed up and revised slightly for better track performance. Us Yanks only started receiving the hot Civic in 2017, with the exception of a few Type Rs sneakily rebadged as Acura Integras and RSXs in the states back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. Well, the new one is here, and it looks very promising.
The second-ever US-spec Honda to wear red badges, the 2023 Civic Type R is a formerly sedate hatchback turned track monster. With a 2.0L turbocharged Inline-4 under the hood, Honda hasn’t said how much power the new ‘R will make, but they did confirm that it is the most powerful model they have imported to the US. Rumors say 346 horses, but we’ll see. Power goes exclusively through a 6-speed manual transmission, and once again the Type-R remains the absolute benchmark for Front-wheel-drive performance vehicles. Outside, the eleventh-generation Civic gets classier,and so does the Type-R. With a cleaned-up front clip, wider rear doors and fenders than the standard Civic, and a nice, less aggressive rear end with an actual rear wing instead of the STI-style spoiler on the previous model. The three-outlet exhausts remain, as well as red trim throughout.
Inside, the 2023 Type R is possibly the nicest Civic ever, with red racing seats, red carpets, a 9-inch digital gauge cluster with a neat “+R” mode, which essentially makes the dashboard look like something you would see on the yoke of a Honda Indy car. The shifter remains aluminum, and the standard stylish interior you would find on the newest Civic. Also, it is a hatchback model as standard, so it is about as practical as a car can be. Simply a pure hot hatchback, as it should be.
Honda also hasn’t confirmed pricing on the Type R, but somewhere around $45,000 should be about right for something offering this much in terms of both performance and practicality. Expect more info as the year progresses.
