Excitement for the all-new 2023 Honda Civic Type R is reaching a fever pitch after the Japanese automaker announced yesterday that the car will be unveiled next week, on July 20. An extensive teaser campaign is finally coming to an end, meaning that we can confirm or deny the various rumors surrounding the car. CarBuzz will be at the launch event thanks to Honda's invitation, and we'll be sure to bring you as much information as we can, but before Wednesday rolls around, let's take a look at five things we can look forward to in the days leading up to the big reveal.
1. How Many Colors Will Be Offered?
A recent leak posted to an online Civic forum claims that there will be only five options you can choose from when specifying the paint on your new Type R. Fortunately, these five options will include the iconic Championship White. Other choices will be limited to Crystal Black, Boost Blue Pearl, Sonic Gray Pearl, and the vibrant Rallye Red. And if you think exterior color choices are highly limited, don't even bother asking about the interior. According to the leak, the cabin will only be trimmed in a Black/Red combo. That said, the teaser images have shown dark blue wheels and blue accents in the headlights, so this thing will undoubtedly stand out once again.
2. Sporty But Restrained Styling
Unlike recent iterations of the Civic Type R, the 2023 model will be less shouty in terms of exterior design. Sure, it will retain a large wing on the rear end, as well as those Ferrari F40-mimicking triple exhaust tips, but the rest of the car will be far less polarizing. The red Honda badge will naturally be a returning feature to help make it easier to spot the sporty Type R variant, and wheels (likely produced by BBS) will add a touch more aggression. But overall, this car won't automatically label you a ricer, and we think that's a good thing.
3. Front-Wheel-Drive Fun
It doesn't matter how quick a Volkswagen Golf R is in a straight line or how many other rivals have decided to power all four wheels. Despite increasing AWD competition, the Civic Type R will once again appeal to those who appreciate experiences above acceleration figures. Power will go to the front wheels exclusively, and that means buckets of fun - even at low speeds. Naturally, some clever suspension tuning and a smart differential will ensure you don't understeer into a tree for no good reason, and we can't wait to cock a rear wheel while exploring the grip limits of the finest FWD hot hatch around. A GTI and its insulated driving experience will almost certainly be inferior from an excitement point of view.
4. New FWD Lap Records
Okay, we don't know for certain that Honda will once again reset the record books at the infamous Nordschleife (or anywhere else, for that matter), but we wouldn't bet against it. FWD hot hatch lap records at Suzuka and the Nurburgring are a matter of pride for Honda, and we're willing to bet that the Japanese automaker will have once again found a way to make a fairly basic recipe become an award-winning masterpiece. To help achieve this, we confidently expect the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-pot engine to provide a (likely slight) boost in performance over the mill in the last-generation Type R. That means anything above 306 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque.
5. Six-Speed Manual Gearbox
As obsessed as Honda is with the idea of FWD lap records, there is one low that it will not sink to. An automatic gearbox of some sort would be all but guaranteed to deliver a performance benefit to the Type R, but such a thing would cost a good deal to develop. It would add weight too. And most importantly, it would subtract a certain amount of fun from the equation. But fear not - the Civic Type R will once again be equipped with a six-speed manual gearbox. We predict that some sort of rev-matching technology will be offered, but there's a good chance you'll be able to deactivate this if you like.
We'll bring you more info as soon as we have it.