Honda lands new Civic Type R

Honda Australia has landed its first Civic Type R for more than six years, with first examples of the new-generation hot hatch landing at Port Melbourne’s Webb Dock over the weekend.

The first shipment of about 60 cars, including a Rally Red example destined for the national media launch in Tasmania next month, will go to Honda dealerships for pre-delivery in Victoria, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

Honda says more than 400 units are due to arrive this year, satisfying strong early demand including about 350 firm dealer orders and more than 6500 expressions of interest.

That’s up from the 250 orders and 5000 preregistrations Honda said it had when Australian pricing of $50,990 plus on-road costs – matching Ford’s feisty Focus RS – was announced in late July.

Powered by a 228kW/400Nm 2.0-litre VTEC Turbo four-cylinder engine that drove the five-door hatchback to a new lap record for a front-drive production car at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, the Type R comes standard with a close-ratio six-speed manual transmission with rev-matching function.

Other standard equipment for Australia includes three-mode adaptive dampers, Brembo brakes, 20-inch alloy wheels and the full Honda Sensing suite of safety and driver-assist technologies.

The arrival of the fifth-generation Civic Type R (Australia never received the first or previous generation model) crowns the launch of new sedan then hatch versions of Honda’s 10th-generation Civic small car this year, followed by the Japanese brand’s new CR-V.

“The ultimate in Civic performance and a direct manifestation of Honda’s racing spirit, experience and heritage, the Type R stands as a banner of Honda’s commitment to creating products that put customers – and enthusiasts – at the centre of everything it does,” said Honda Australia director Stephen Collins.

“Since the Civic Type R prototype was unveiled at the Paris motor show last year, the anticipation surrounding Honda’s next-generation high-performance hot hatch has continued to build, so it’s incredibly exciting to have the first cars here now and it won’t be long until we’ll start to see them out on the road.

“The arrival of the all-new Civic Type R is the culmination of 18 months of intense new product activity for Honda Australia that has seen our entire line-up of vehicles either refreshed, updated or all-new models introduced to market.”

“The all-new Civic Type R showcases the very best that Honda can produce in a front-wheel drive performance car.”