The launch of any new Honda Civic Type R will always bring excitement. And the excitement for the latest example is growing after Honda recently unveiled the performance figures for the car, and showed it off in some glorious high-resolution images. The previous generation of the Type R is a car that people will still hold dear to their heart, but this latest generation looks to take it to the next step and potentially beyond that as well.

Of course, no Type R is perfect. People had their grievances with the last one, mostly in terms of the styling, and no doubt people will have grievances with the latest one too. But the new Civic Type R looks set to right some of the wrongs of the previous generation, and elevate the Type R in general. Many believe that this could become the best generation of the Type R yet and there is very much a strong case to indicate that might happen. This is why the new Civic Type R may well be the best iteration yet of the performance car from Honda.

Getting The Look Of The Civic Type R Spot On

2023 Civic Type R On Race Track In Black
via Honda

While we spend a lot of our time inside a car, a lot of us want to have a car that we think looks good. And if there was one thing you could criticize the last Civic Type R for, it was its looks. The front featured a very aggressive fascia, with jagged headlights, a plethora of bulges and various appendages around the air dam and some air vents that were purely cosmetic and functional. Overall, the shape of the last Civic Type R was seen as too aggressive, and a bit much.

This time though, Honda have absolutely refined the look of the Type R. There is a lot less going on at the front of the car now. A lot of those unnecessary bulges and lines are gone, replaced by smooth panels and the vents at the front are actually functional. The LED headlights are somewhat elegant, with the grille and air dam both tidied up. What is more important though is that, overall, the lines of the Civic Type R are much more elegant. It has a smoother, cleaner appearance with even the rear wing taking on a more refined and less aggressive look.

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Improving Upon The Power Under The Hood

2023 Civic Type R On Race Track
via Honda

The Civic Type R will never be the most powerful car in the world. It is a performance sedan, and not a supercar or hypercar. However, that doesn’t mean Honda can’t increase its power. That is certainly what they’ve done here. The Type R is powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, and that engine makes 315 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque. Those figures are 9 hp more than the previous generation Type R and some 15 lb-ft more of torque over the previous generation.

Honda was able to get this extra power and torque thanks to a redesigned turbocharger, intake and exhaust system. Newly shaped and sized turbine blades were utilized within the turbo, as well as a better flowing intake. This all helps the turbo to generate pressure over a wider power range. And to get a little more excitement out of the car when you put your foot down, the Type R has an active exhaust with a valve that opens up at higher rpm and emits a louder sound as you stamp on the gas. A small but very cool feature.

A General Improvement Over The Previous Type R

2023 Honda Civic Type R Full View On Race Track
via Honda

While the previous generation of the Type R was a brilliant car to drive, and will remain so, it was hardly free of issues. As we mentioned, its appearance could be at worst classed as vulgar, and it followed the trend of the Civic as a whole. The model, including the standard Civic, had become somewhat uncultured, a bit too much, a lot less refined. This new iteration really looks to have fixed all of that, maintaining the sporty look of a Type R but refining it to be that bit classier.

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Gearing Up For The Latest Type R From Honda

2023 Honda Civic Type R Front View On Race Track In Red
via Honda

Honda has yet to reveal the price of the new Type R, somewhat frustratingly, but that surely is not too far away. The latest images and power figures of the car do enough to get us very excited for when it becomes available to us all. The classic Type R red seats will also return, although as the only option available for the interior. It has certainly been a long time coming for this new Civic Type R. But from everything we have seen so far, Honda might well create a future classic and give us the best Civic Type R we have seen so far.

Source: Honda