The new Honda Civic Type R is a serious competitor in the growing hot hatchback segment. But with an MSRP of $34,775 it's hardly the most affordable. And that's before you factor in dealerships taking advantage of the hatchback's limited availability and slapping on ludicrously high markups, with some charging as much as $25,000 over the base price, making it out of reach for many. Currently, the Civic Type R is only available with the top-trim Touring Package to justify the asking price.

However, according to some National Highway Traffic Safety Administration documents it looks like Honda intends to launch an entry-level Civic Type R next year to make the hot hatch more affordable. The NHTSA certification papers recently filed by Honda America were uncovered by The Truth About Cars, which lists the Civic Type R Touring trim as model code FK8G7. A second model is also shown simply listed as 'Type R' under the model code FK8G3, featuring the same engine and six-speed manual transmission as the Civic Type R Touring model. There still hasn't been any confirmation, but Honda has previously said it wants to introduce new Civic Type R variants.

The cutbacks made to the entry-level Civic Type R remain to be seen, but it makes sense for Honda to introduce a cheaper model to maintain sales momentum. In the current Civic Type R, you get bucket sport seats, 20-inch wheels, a rear wing, and a seven-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay as standard. If the cheaper Civic Type R has identical performance to the Touring trim, we can probably expect standard Civic seats, a basic audio system, smaller wheels and no rear wing to cut the price below the $30,000 mark.