New 2023 Honda Civic Type R priced from £46,995

The new Honda Civic Type R is now on sale, with prices starting from £46,995. The latest generation of Honda's iconic hot hatch retains front-wheel-drive and a manual gearbox. The same engine from the outgoing Type R has also been carried over, tuned to 325bhp and 420Nm of torque. 

The new ‘FL5’ Civic Type R’s unveiling this year neatly coincides with both the 25th anniversary of the Civic Type R and the Civic’s 50th birthday this year. Orders are available to place now with first deliveries expected from January 2023. 

In order to extract the extra 9bhp from the engine, there’s a new turbocharger with a compact housing and a revised turbine blade, offering better airflow and thus more power. The 2.0-litre turbocharged inline-four cylinder engine is an evolution of the unit found in the old FK8 model.

The extra power helps the new Civic Type R launch from 0-62mph in 5.4 seconds - 0.3 quicker than the old car. Top speed is raised to 171mph, 2mph higher than the outgoing model. 

The car continues with its front-wheel drive layout, despite many of the latest hot hatches - such as the Volkswagen Golf R and Mercedes-AMG A 35 - utilising four-wheel drive to deploy power outputs over 300bhp. Power is sent to the front wheels via a revised six-speed manual gearbox - featuring a new lever and an “optimised” gate pattern - and a mechanical limited-slip differential. The gearbox also features auto blipping on all downshifts. The suspension is made up of a new dual axis strut unit which has been designed to accommodate the wider 265mm section tyres. 

The new Honda Civic Type R has already proven its pace, by setting the front-wheel drive lap record at Suzuka, going round the famed figure-8 layout in 2 minutes 23.120 seconds. That’s nearly nine-tenths of a second faster than the previous record holder, the extra special Civic Type R Limited Edition. Just like the FK8, Honda says the new car will attempt a Nurburgring lap record for front-wheel drive production cars. We’ve already driven the new Civic Type R around the Estoril circuit and it certainly impressed on the Portuguese track. 

The latest Type R is based on Honda’s new 11th-generation Civic, which features a much cleaner exterior design than the 10th-gen car it replaces. This makes for a much less challenging-looking Civic Type R, although there are still plenty of suitably outlandish details, chief among which is the sizeable rear wing sitting on diecast aluminium mounts. 

Lower down there’s a new diffuser from the middle of which protrudes - once again - a triple-exit exhaust system. This time, though, the middle pipe is larger than the others, as opposed to smaller on the FK8. The diffuser, meanwhile, is integrated into the car’s underfloor for optimal aero performance.

At the other end is a splitter and enlarged air intakes, while in the middle is a pair of side skirts and vented front wheel arches. Speaking of which, the wheel arches are all blistered, housing a set of 19-inch wheels - an inch smaller than last time - shod in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres. Under these, you’ll find a beefed-up Brembo braking system with two-piece discs for improved pedal feel.

The new Type R features the same minimalistic cabin as the standard Civic, enhanced with various sporty elements including suede-wrapped sports seats that sit the driver lower than in the last Civic Type R, a whole lot of red stitching, a suede-rimmed steering wheel and a Type R plaque on the dashboard. The air vents are positioned along one long horizontal line across the interior.

From behind the wheel, drivers will be able to alter the characteristics of the engine, steering, adaptive dampers and engine sound via the following modes - Comfort, Sport, +R and Individual. There’s also an updated version of the Honda LogR data logger system which now gives information like tyre friction circles and can even score drivers on their track performance. 

The Civic Type R will be available in Championship White, Rallye Red, Racing Blue, Crystal Black and Sonic Grey Pearls when it arrives in Europe in early 2023. A price hasn’t been revealed, but we expect the figure will be close to £40,000. 

Read our full review of the new Honda Civic here...