At the world premiere, which was held online, Honda unveiled the exterior and interior designs of the all-new 2023 Honda Civic Type R and announced advancements made to the vehicle’s dynamic performance.
2023 Honda Civic Type R Features
By further advancing the concept of the predecessor model – Ultimate SPORT – the all-new Civic Type R was developed with a goal to achieve pure sports performance that attains the ultimate in speed and the joy of driving. The value proposition of the Type R is to realize both speeds, which is the essential value of a sports model, and driving pleasure, which appeals to the emotion of the driver.
Based on the Civic Hatchback, which has been well received in the market, low & wide packaging was further pursued to elevate driving performance for the Type R model. Moreover, a forward field of vision with a wide view of the road was featured with an aim to provide information directly to the driver even while driving at a high range of speed.
The exterior design team strived to create styling for both overwhelming speed and beauty. The wide fenders, which are integrated with the body, are shaped to flow beautifully from the side panels and enhance aerodynamic performance by controlling airflow that continues uninterrupted from front to rear.
As for exterior color options, in addition to Championship White, which has been an iconic Type R color, Sonic Gray Pearl was newly added to the lineup.
The interior design features red seats and floor carpets that lift the spirit of the occupants from the moment they open the door, and “noiseless,” black-toned interior panels that enable the driver to focus on driving.
The front seats are designed with a three-dimensional polyhedral form to firmly support the body so that the driver and front passenger can feel complete confidence even while driving on a racing circuit at the vehicle’s full potential. Moreover, the adoption of a suede-like seat surface material with a high friction coefficient reduced body slippage in high-G situations such as cornering and sudden acceleration/deceleration.
As for the meter design, in addition to the standard display, +R mode-exclusive designs were adopted. Placing the primary focus on enabling the driver to instantaneously recognize necessary information during sporty driving, including on a racing circuit, the upper part of the meter displays key information such as the engine rpm, rev indicator, and gear position indicator, while the lower part functions as a multi-information display that can show vehicle information selected by the driver. By adopting an illuminated rev indicator, the driver can obtain information intuitively without keeping a close watch on the indicator, along with instantaneous visual recognition of the information and a stimulating meter design.
The development team set three goals for the dynamic performance of the all-new Civic Type R: 1) “Fastest”, representing the pursuit of overwhelming speed and being the fastest FF (front engine/front-wheel-drive) vehicle by refining and perfecting every aspect of driving feel offered by the vehicle; 2) “Addictive Feel” representing the goal to achieve dynamics that make the driver feel “addicted” to driving the vehicle by offering a thrilling driving experience; and 3) “Secure Feel”, representing the goal to ensure high-speed stability and a complete feeling of trust.
Aiming to realize an all-new Type R which outperforms all previous Type R models, the 2.0-liter VTEC Turbo engine designed exclusively for Type R was further refined to achieve higher output and responsiveness to the upper limit.
In addition to achieving the ultimate in speed, the development team strived to create a car that makes the driver passionate about driving the vehicle. To this end, a thrilling driving experience was pursued by refining drivability with highly-responsive handing developed with an aim to realize driving at the will of the driver, a throttle that reacts immediately to driver input, and also by further advancing a feeling of control of the 6-speed manual transmission and the rev match control system.
On the premise of ensuring highly-sophisticated design, aerodynamics was further advanced to achieve well-balanced downforce both front and rear and a reduction of drag. Moreover, the lightweight and highly rigid body contributes to the high stability of the vehicle at high speeds.
Furthermore, through the utilization of Honda LogR, which provides real-time information on the mechanical movements of the vehicle and vehicle behavior resulting from the driver’s input, the all-new Civic Type R will provide the driver with enhanced driving pleasure with a sense of oneness between the driver and the vehicle, which includes the sharing of driving videos and helping the driver improve their driving skills.
