In one of the most anticipated reveals of the year, Honda just gave the world its first full look at the all-new 2023 Civic Type R at an event in Los Angeles. While Type R versions of the Civic have been available in the rest of the world since 1997, this is only the second-generation Civic Type R to come to the U.S. It’s based on the 11th-generation Civic hatchback that was introduced for 2021. The design is much more grown-up than the previous CTR. For more of our exclusive photos of the 2023 Civic Type R, click here!
New Civic Type R: Exterior
Photo: Ernest Crosby Gone is the exaggerated ‘I wear my hat back and vape’ design of the previous generation, replaced by clean lines all around in a longer, lower and wider body. Aside from the big wing, hood vent and red Type R badges, the rest of the new CTR is almost unremarkable. Especially in Historic Championship White, the exclusive Type R paint color you see here. Photo: Ernest Crosby G/O Media may receive a commission Up front, Honda gave the Type R a large lower grille — look closely and you can see a massive intercooler behind it — a front spoiler and the red badging we’ve come to expect on Type R products. Photo: Honda The good news is that Honda says every scoop or vent on the Type R is fully functional, for cooling, aerodynamics, or both. Air vents behind the front wheels help cool the front brakes, and the hood vent pulls hot air out of the engine bay. Photo: Ernest Crosby Out back, there’s a huge black fender that, again, is functional. The rear bumper is unique to the Type R, with an updated version of the triple-exit exhaust seen on the last-gen CTR and the rakish rear diffuser.
2023 Honda Civic Type R: The interior
Photo: Honda The interior of the Type R looks fantastic, taking advantage of the vastly improved interior of the 11th generation Civic. The biggest update with the new Type R: Even more red wallpaper. The seats, which used to be red with black accents, are now completely red, even the carpet is red now instead of black. The seats are upholstered with suede material. Having sat in them, they are fantastically grippy and should have no problem holding the rider in place during hard cornering. Photo: Honda
New Civic Type R: Engine and Drivetrain
Photo: Ernest Crosby Honda’s familiar 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder returns, as does the six-speed manual transmission with automatic rev-matching (which, thankfully, you can disable). The suspension and steering have been tuned at the Nurburgring to be more responsive and precise. Honda also added a new driving mode called +R, activated by a button near the shifter. Right now, we only know that this button brings up a new performance-focused layout for the instrument panel (showing a large, horizontal RPM readout) and center display (with auxiliary gauge readings for coolant temperature, oil pressure, and more). We suspect +R Mode also calls for more aggressive drivetrain and chassis setups, but we’ll have to wait to find out details about all of that. Photo: Ernest Crosby The Type R also features a track-oriented data logging system called Honda LogR, which records real-time vehicle information such as pedal pressure and steering angle, along with a stopwatch for recording lap times and a camera for video rounds.
2023 Civic Type R: Performance and Power
Photo: Ernest Crosby As for performance, Honda didn’t release details on horsepower, torque, 0-60 or anything like that. The ’23 Type R is certainly faster than its predecessor on the track: Honda recently set a front-wheel drive record at Suzuka with a prototype of the car you see here. Honda says the 2023 Type R will be the most powerful Honda vehicle ever offered in the US. Those figures, along with pricing details, will be available later this year. We’ll have to wait for more details as the release date of the Civic Type R approaches. The Type R is set to go on sale this fall. Photo: Ernest Crosby Photo: Ernest Crosby Photo: Ernest Crosby Photo: Ernest Crosby Photo: Ernest Crosby
