2023 Honda Civic Type R: JDM outputs leaked

Honda has turned up the wick on the 2.0-litre engine in the Civic Type R.

According to customer documents published on Tire Meets Road, the engine in the new Type R will make 243kW of power (at 6500rpm) and 420Nm of torque (between 2600 and 4000rpm) in Japan.

That’s up 8kW and 20Nm on the last Japanese-market model, and up 15kW and 20Nm on the last model sold in Australia.

It’s not clear if we’ll once again get a slightly detuned version of the Japanese car’s engine again, or if Australia will be treated to the full-on version this time around.

Like before, the 2.0-litre turbocharged engine is hooked up to a six-speed manual and sends its torque to the front wheels.

Honda hasn’t confirmed how much power the new Civic Type R will make, despite having revealed the car globally. It did confirm the car would be more powerful than its predecessor.

Honda says it aimed for the Civic Type R to be the fastest front-engine, front-wheel drive vehicle, while offering both an “addictive” driving feel and secure high-speed stability.

Its reveal comes shortly after the final Type R development car set a new track record for a front-wheel drive car at Suzuka, home to the Formula 1 Japanese GP.

While the Type R, like the Civic it’s based on, features cleaner styling than its predecessor, there are still racy details like an enormous rear wing and multi-spoke, black-finish alloy wheels.

There are wider guards and more aggressive bumper treatments front and rear than the standard Civic, while there’s a slim air intake on the bonnet. Honda says it also features wider rear doors exclusive to the Type R.

Down back, there’s a cleaner rear bumper design than the outgoing Type R albeit still with a racy diffuser and three centrally-mounted exhaust outlets.

Honda revealed the hot Civic in the trademark Type R colour of Championship White, but it’ll be available in other colours including Rallye Red, Boost Blue, Crystal Black Pearl and new Sonic Grey Pearl.

The cabin is swathed in red trim, with red carpets and a matching shade for the suede-like upholstery of the seats.

The front seats are grippy buckets with a “three-dimensional polyhedral form”, designed to firmly support occupants on the track.

There’s a slicker digital instrument cluster, and +R mode-exclusive displays which put information like the engine rpm, rev indicator and gear position in clear view of the driver.

Honda’s LogR data logger system provides real-time information on the vehicle’s movements.

The new Type R will again line up against the Hyundai i30 N, Volkswagen Golf R, and Renault Megane R.S. among others, as well as pricier options such as the Audi RS3 and Mercedes-AMG A45 S.

The old Type R sold for $54,990 plus on-road costs, but given today’s base Civic is $47,200 drive-away, we’d expect the new model to be more expensive. Update: An earlier version of this story quoted the Civic’s price as $47,300. The error has been corrected.

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