Honda is celebrating the 25th anniversary for its iconic little Civic Type R while drumming up excitement for the launch of the sixth-generation, FL5 Civic Type R here in Australia, confirmed to arrive early next year.
We reported on the official debut of the 2023 Honda Civic Type R back in July which teased a new, lightweight hatch body that has been fine-tuned on the Nurburgring, powered by a 2.0-litre VTEC turbo four-cylinder, paired with a six-speed manual.
Since the reveal, Honda has been pretty secretive in terms of powertrain and hardware details for the sixth-generation Type R, although it was proud to announce a pre-production mule had broken the lap record for front-wheel drive cars at Suzuka in Japan.
The Civic Type R in question managed to lap the Suzuka Circuit in 2:21.120, beating the previous record-holder – another Civic Type R Limited Edition – by eight-tenths of a second.
Interestingly, the car it bettered at Suzuka was a lighter, more track-focussed variant of the fifth-gen Civic Type R (pictured above), which speaks volumes of the upcoming Type R’s potential.
Rumours suggest that Honda’s improvements to its potent little 2.0-litre four-cylinder will result in power outputs around the 240kW mark, with the fifth-generation FK8 Type R producing 228kW/400Nm.
The Type R story first began back in 1992 with the NSX Type R, and then Honda first introduced a Civic Type R five years later with the debut of the EK9 generation that offered performance motoring to the masses with a 1.6-litre VTEC, a limited-slip differential and featherweight 1050kg platform.
We’ll report back to you whenever Honda gives us an update on pricing, specifications or powertrain details on the FL5 Civic Type R, ahead of deliveries taking place in Australia early in 2023.
