Honda surprised us by teasing the 2023 Civic Type R earlier this month. It was wrapped in red skin that covered most of the intricate styling cues, but there was enough for us to decipher most of the design elements. It was spotted a couple of days after the tease and we got to see it better from all the angles, unlike Honda’s teasers which comprised of just two images.
Now, our spy photographers spotted the car yet again – in the same camouflage – but got some shots on the interior as well. This is the first time we got a glimpse of the cabin and it certainly looks different from the standard Civic.
What’s New This Time Around?
The highlight in the latest set of spy shots is, of course, the interior. It looks largely similar to the 2022 Civic, but there are some noticeable differences. For starters, there are sport seats with red suede/Alcantara and ‘Type-R’ branding on the headrests. The dash and the center console are black, but the seats and the red seatbelts break the monotony. The steering wheel seems to have suede or Alcantara wrap instead of a leather wrap.
The knobs and switches, and the vents are carried over from the standard Civic. However, the Type-R doesn’t have cup holders, unlike the Civic. It makes sense, because you don’t have hot coffee scalding your body when you swerve this car hard around the corners. There’s the manual gear shifter here along with the electric handbrake switch. The floating touchscreen system is a straight lift from the 2022 Civic.
Did We See Anything New On The Outside?
Well, not particularly because it was spied pretty well the last time. However, this time it was spotted standing, so the photographers managed to get close-up shots of the car. The air intakes, the exhausts, brakes, the rear spoiler, side skirts, etc. were shot up close and from different angles. It is wrapped in the same red camouflage with hundreds of little Civics on it.
But, just to reiterate again, you can see honeycomb mesh detailing in the grille and large air dam up front. You can also see the vents on the hood when viewed up close. The side air intakes are wrapped up here. The car rides on the same 10-spoke black wheels shod in low-profile tires that we saw on the official teaser images and the earlier spy shots. Red brake calipers can be seen peeing from behind the wheels. Rocker trims with winglets are present in front of the rear wheels. The car also comes with door-mounted wing mirrors.
The taillights are connected via a horizontal strip. The large spoiler is still the highlight here. The side vents are under the wraps, but it’ll be interesting to see if Honda has gone with a slightly subtler and mature design here. There’s also the three-tip exhaust setup with the center one is larger than the other two.
What About The Drivetrain?
The 2023 Civic Type-R will continue to feature the same 2.0-liter, four-pot turbocharged engine, but with a tweak in the power outputs.
The engine will be mated to a six-speed manual gearbox that will route the power to the front wheels only. A limited-slip differential and rev-matching will also be offered as standard. There is news that a dual-clutch automatic gearbox could be in the reckoning to pawn some customers over from the Hyundai Veloster N, but we’ll have to wait for an official confirmation from Honda on it.
The upcoming Civic Type-R will debut in 2022 and we expect a sight hike over its current starting price of $37,895. That said, it still shouldn’t exceed beyond the $40,000 mark. Share your thoughts about the upcoming 2023 Honda Civic Type-R with us in the comments section below.
Picture credit: S. Baldauf/SB-Medien