Rear-drive Honda Civic Type R-GT unleashed
Race-ready Civic Type R is the most hard-core take on Honda’s sold-out new $73K hot hatch seen yetThe wraps have come off the 2024 Honda Civic Type R-GT in Japan – a hard-core motorsport version of the sold-out Civic Type R hot hatch.
Expected to inspire a range of extreme wide-body and aero upgrades for the road-legal 2023 Honda Civic Type R launching in Australia next month, the R-GT was revealed at the 2023 Tokyo Auto Salon.
It will compete against the likes of the Nissan Z and Toyota Supra in the GT500 category of the Super GT race series in Japan from 2024.
The Super GT series is essentially Japan’s touring car championship, not unlike Aussie Supercars.
Developed by Honda’s motorsport arm, HRC, the Civic Type R-GT has similarities to the road-legal model but adds a range of extreme aerodynamic aids, including a huge rear wing, spats galore and extended front and rear bumpers with deep splitters and diffusers.
The biggest difference between the road car and race car, however, is the driveline.
Instead of being front-drive likes its production car cousin, the Civic Type R-GT is a rear-drive apex predator.
Detailed specs are yet to be revealed. The vehicle is still in the development phase, with HRC saying testing will begin from mid-2023.
The road-going 2023 Honda Civic Type R is priced from $72,600 drive-away, well up on its predecessor’s $54,990 plus on-road costs.
But that hasn’t stopped hundreds of Aussie buyers plonking down $1000 to secure one of 500 vehicles heading Down Under in 2023.
The road-going new Honda Civic Type R is a front-drive, manual-only five-door hatch that rides on 19-inch alloy wheels (down from 20-inch previously) and is an improved daily driver yet faster on track than its predecessor, as our first drive in Portugal late last year confirmed.
It’s powered by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol VTEC engine (K20C1) worth 235kW and 420Nm of torque, which is 7kW and 20Nm more than before.
First customer deliveries of the new Civic Type R arrive in Australia from February 2023. Stay tuned for our first drive on Aussies roads (and track) next month.
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