CVT mooted for Honda Civic Type R

The 2017 Honda Civic Type R will be a fire-breathing, tyre-frying, race-track-ready machine, and it's set to arrive in Australia in the second half of 2017 – that's this year, in case you've still got a hangover.

But unlike previous generations of the Civic Type R hot hatch (only a handful of which were offered in Australia) the new Mk10 model will not be offered exclusively with a manual, as has historically been the case.

Honda company execs have reportedly told UK magazine Autocar that a CVT will be offered as an option with the 7000rpm 2.0-litre turbo-petrol screamer, which will priced at around $50,000 in Australia and compete with the wild Ford Focus RS hot hatch.

The car's engine will be an evolution of the current Mk9 Honda Civic Type R's 2.0-litre turbo, a car that was never sold in Australia. Naturally, we went to the UK to test it, and it's a hoot.

2016 Honda Civic Type R review and video

That car's 228kW and 400Nm is likely to be pumped up to around 250kW and 440Nm, driving through the front wheels. A limited-slip front diff will again be included, hopefully a similar mechanical item.

It will also be packing hefty Brembo brakes and big rotors to deliver strong stopping power.

Although a CVT, or continuously variable transmission, would likely add weight compared a manual gearbox and potentially reduce the car's pace in some scenarios, it would almost certainly be the most popular choice in Australia, where nine out of 10 cars sold are automatics.

The UK magazine cited three key players in the Mk10 Honda Civic Type R's development (chief engineer Mirsuru Kariya, head designer Daisuke Tsutamori, Honda Europe boss Katsushi Inoue) as confirming a CVT tweaked for bottom-end acceleration that will be offered alongside the six-speed manual.

They also said it won’t be all-wheel drive.

Australia is expected to be one of the top-selling markets for the new UK-built Honda hottie, and if the company does offer an automatic (even a CVT) it can be expected to swell sales significantly.

We asked Honda Australia whether it would welcome an automatic version of the Honda Civic Type R here and the company's Group Public Relations Manager, Neil McDonald, was measured in his response, careful to neither confirm nor deny a CVT variant.

"It's a performance car, we'll look at all options but we're not in a position to confirm anything."

Asked if an automatic CVT would hypothetically be a win for Honda Australia in terms of sales – which is a certainty – McDonald responded that "I don't know if this [CVT talk] is official."

"It's a little way to go, I don't know the source or the details specifically," he stated.

He did confirm that the red-hot Civic Type R is "definitely on schedule" for a release in Australia in the second-half of 2017, which is on track with previous information citing a September launch.

Expected to accelerate from 0-100km/h in around 5.5 seconds and on to a top speed of around 280km/h, the new Honda Civic Type R will have the "show" to match its "go" as the car's dramatic aero body kit will endure.