After teasing ad nauseam, Honda has finally unveiled the 2023 Honda Civic Type R. Well, at least he mostly revealed him. We still don’t know how much horsepower it has or what has been done to its chassis other than bits have been “upgraded”. What we do know is that the latest version of Honda’s hottest hatchback is said to be more powerful than ever. It also looks more mature, which was easy to sort out since its predecessor looked like something from the Japanese anime series Gundam Wing.
R-acy and R-claimed looks
It’s no secret that the outgoing Civic Type R had a love-it-or-hate-it design. For better or for worse, the new CTR does not evoke such strong reactions. But we think it looks wonderful, with just a handful of racy add-ons that don’t ruin the otherwise understated design. Sure, there are still some fake air vents out of vanity, but the ones behind the front wheels are real now. The rear spoiler remains a prominent feature, but it’s no longer a boy racer caricature.
Like the previous version, the new Civic Type R has a unique body. It’s still traditionally only offered as a hatchback and has flared fenders that distinguish it from smaller Civics. Honda also gives it wider back doors, which you won’t find on the regular hatch. Side skirts are another unique detail, and at the rear is a black diffuser with the Type R’s signature three-tip, center-exit exhaust.
return of the side wall
Easily overlooked but hugely important is the Civic’s new R-rated wheel-and-tire combo. The last one rode on 20-inch rims with 245/30 summer rubber that had pancake-thin sidewalls. Thankfully, a smaller set of lightweight 19-inch wheels with thicker sidewalls are now standard. But no worry; Honda only reduced the wheel diameter. Thanks to the new 265/30 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S summer tires, the contact area of the CTR is now significantly wider.
Normally, the big news for an all-new Civic Type R would be its performance specs. Unfortunately, these will be kept under wraps until Honda unveil them closer to the car’s launch this fall. Luckily, we have some hard facts about what’s under the hood to stop us. Its power to be determined comes from a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder. Once again, the engine’s partner in lap times is a six-speed manual gearbox with Rev-Match function.
Honda says it will be the “most powerful Type R ever”. The US version previously had 306 hp; Those in markets in Europe and Japan had 316 horses. Is it safe to say that the 2023 Civic Type R will have at least 317? The way Honda put it makes us think that might be the case, but corporate marketing is a fickle friend, so we’ll just have to wait and see. This also applies to suspension and steering. They’re somehow improved. That’s all we know now.
R-ed carpet treatment
Inside, the car’s Type R-specific front seats are available in any color you want, as long as it’s bright red. We got to sit in these new buckets and can report that they are super comfortable. The US model will also have a red carpet for the first time, a treatment previously only seen in other markets. So far we’re not sure if Honda will offer a black carpet or not.
The rest of the hot hatch interior is what you find in the regular Civic hatchback upper panels. That means a 9.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, dual-zone automatic climate control and an all-digital instrument cluster. In Type R, the latter shows a unique design in the +R drive model. It includes shift lights, gear position and a race car-inspired rev counter graphic.
Honda hasn’t said how much the 2023 Civic Type R will cost, but it’s expected to top the price of the 2021 model, which started at $38,910.
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