For a long time, the Nissan GT-R served as the pinnacle of Japanese sports cars. Now that the GT-R is gone, there is a lack of true-blue Japanese sports cars in the USA, with only Toyota GR Supra, Honda Civic Type-R, and Subaru WR-X being the elite members of the clan. Now, Honda has ensured that all hope is not gone from the land of the rising sun, as it has finally lifted off the covers from the all-new sixth-generation Civic Type-R.
The new Honda Civic Type-R had an online global premiere in which Honda showcased the exterior and interior details of the new sports car while confirming that the 2.0-liter turbo-petrol engine comes from its predecessor, the fifth-gen Civic Type-R. The model will first go on sale in Japan, followed by other global markets, including the USA. Here’s all the information Honda has undisclosed for the Civic Type-R for the time being.
The New Honda Civic Type-R Looks Sleeker Than The Outgoing Version
Compared to the edgy and sharp-looking fifth-gen Honda Civic Type-R, which still is a sure-shot head-turner despite being a half-a-decade old design, the all-new Civic Type-R looks sleeker. As before, the new version is based on the four-door version of the Civic saloon already on sale in the USA.
The front fascia of the new Honda Civic Type-R looks wide with a stretched layout comprising of slim headlamps and grille in unison. The grille here gets a honeycomb mesh pattern with the trademark red-colored Honda logo in the middle, with the latter indicating that it has a mightier heart under the hood. The headlamps stretched outwards look slimmer than before and get full-LED treatment with daytime running LEDs on their upper edges.
Move towards the side profile, and the Civic Type-R looks planted and lower than the sedan version while getting a slightly different four-door layout with a sloping coupe-like roofline. As understood, the Civic Type-R gets sportier alloy wheels with red-colored center caps and brake calipers behind them.
At the back, the Honda Civic Type-R looks significantly different from the saloon version, with a stubbier boot lid, steeply-raked rear windscreen, a massive black-colored spoiler, and slightly revised LED tail lamps. The red-colored Honda logo sits proudly on the top of the boot lid, while the rear bumper gets a blacked-out diffuser with a centrally-placed triple-port exhaust.
The exterior color options announced for the new Honda Civic Type-R include Championship White, Crystal Black Pearl, Rallye Red, Boost Blue Pearl, and the new Sonic Gray Pearl.
The Cabin Of New Civic Type-R Looks Less Cluttered But Sporty
Compared to the previous generation model, the new Honda Civic Type-R gets a cleaner interior layout, which looks purposeful and less cluttered than the previous model's cabin. The cabin looks sporty with its all-black theme for the dashboard coupled with red-colored seats, floor carpets, and contrast stitching.
The Honda Civic Type-R has a sense of modernity, evident with the new full-TFT instrument console with added +R mode-exclusive layouts and a free-standing touchscreen infotainment system in the middle. The instrument console gets engine rpm, rev indicator, and gear position indicator in its upper half, while the lower half of the console works as a multi-information display. Apart from the driver’s cockpit, the rest of the dashboard gets a cleaner layout, with a horizontally-stretched layer housing horizontal mesh while integrating AC vents and a dedicated ‘Civic Type-R’ badge on the co-passenger side.
Other features available in the Honda Civic Type-R are aluminum pedals, a satin silver finish for the lower center console, an electronic parking brake, and a premium audio system from BOSE.
The New Honda Civic Type-R Retains The Proper Fun Element
Following the tradition of being a front engine-front wheel drive car, the new Honda Civic Type-R continues to get the 2.0-liter VTEC turbocharged petrol engine. While Honda has not disclosed the power and torque outputs and performance figures for the new Civic Type-R, the numbers will be higher and better than the previous-gen model. For reference, the last-gen US-spec Civic Type-R claimed maximum power output of 310 hp and a top speed of 169 mph.
Honda has also confirmed that the new Civic Type-R will continue to have its engine mated to a 6-speed manual transmission as standard, which will also get the assistance of a rev-match control system. In addition to the enhanced powertrain, the new Civic Type-R’s sleeker design also brings in advanced aerodynamics, which helps the new version attain better resistance to drag and well-balanced downforce at both front and rear. Lastly, the new Honda Civic Type-R continues to use Honda LogR to keep track of the real-time driving information on the working mechanicals of the car and the car’s response to the driver’s input.
Honda will reveal more details of the Civic Type-R once it gets listed on the official website with more information and goes on sale. But from all the details revealed till now, we can safely say that the Japanese sports car experience is not dead yet.