After many months of teasing, Honda has finally pulled the covers off the all-new 2023 Honda Civic Type R.  

The new Type R debuted via live-stream event on 21 July 2021. It’s a timely reveal, being merely a week after the Honda Civic’s 50th anniversary. While the Honda Civic debuted on 12 July 1972, the Type R didn’t land until 1997, when Honda launched the well-loved EK9 Type R.

Today’s launch marks the 6th generation of the Honda Civic Type R, dubbed the FL5. Based on the Civic Hatchback, Honda says the all-new Civic Type R was developed with a goal to achieve pure sports performance that attains the ultimate in speed and the joy of driving.

While the looks of the new car are less zany than the outgoing FK8 Type R, Honda has promised that the new car will be more brawny. Honda has already made good on this promise, with the pre-production model setting the front-wheel drive record at the Suzuka Circuit back in April, beating the out-going Type R by nearly a second. 

Although official specs have yet to be released, we know that the new Type R carries over the same 2.0-litre VTEC Turbo engine as the previous-gen car. Honda says they’ve tweaked it for higher output and responsiveness at the upper limit. The engine is paired with a 6-speed manual transmission and the rev-match control system.

Although the exterior is more subdued, there’s still plenty of active aero and the prominent tri-exhaust. The new Type R is said to have a wider body, and gains enhanced suspension and steering performance. The old Type R had sublime handling, so we’ll certainly be keen to test Honda’s enhancements. The new car also appears to sport a smaller 19’’ alloy with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, replacing the FK8’s larger 20’’ alloys and the default Continental SportContact 6 tyre.

It wouldn’t be a Type R without smatterings of red, and fortunately, the interior delivers. Like the old car, there’s bright red bucket seats wrapped in anti-slip suede upholstery. We also spy red carpets, seat belts, and red stitching on the alcantara steering wheel. 

As for tech, exclusive +R mode designs were designed for the digital dash, plus the infotainment gets a suite of digital performance gauges. Carried over is also the Honda LogR app, providing real time data to drivers, to allow them to nail their perfect lap-time.  
Pricing and full specs are to be confirmed.

The old Type-R set a high benchmark for us at DriveLife. We’ll definitely keen to get our hands on the new one.

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Alistair Weekes
A millennial who prefers driving cars to having avocado on toast.

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