The next-generation Honda Civic Type R has made its first public appearance, albeit in prototype form, at the 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon and has also featured in another hype-building YouTube video showing the camouflaged hot hatch being pummelled around the Suzuka Circuit... again.
Despite rolling out its next-gen hot hatch to the general public for the first time, the Japanese brand hasn’t actually revealed anything new about its design or mechanical make-up, instead just reiterating that it will be “the best performing Civic Type R ever”.
As for the teaser clip, this is the second time Honda has published a high-performance development video of the new Type R at Suzuka in as many months.
Once again, the new Type R can be seen darting around the fabled Japanese raceway at all hours and being compared side-by-side with the outgoing model.
The clip is designed to show how seriously Honda is taking the development of its new performance hero hatch with multiple sets of tyres being fitted, multiple drivers doing alternating stints behind the wheel and even co-drivers going out for the ride to lend some extra input from the passenger seat.
Save for the beefy Brembo brakes, we still don’t know the exact specifications of 2022 Honda Civic Type R, aside from the fact it will offer up more performance and, presumably, more power than before.
The general consensus is that the new model will feature an updated version of the outgoing Type R’s aggro 2.0-litre turbo-four (228kW/400Nm), again mated solely to a six-speed manual transmission.
Going by Honda’s previous comments and sentiments, it’s more than likely this transmission will be the only one available, while the inclusion of a limited-slip differential is again a given.
The heavily camouflaged prototype won’t have the limelight to itself in Tokyo today though, as the Mitsubishi Ralliart Vision concept and Subaru STI E-RA electric sports car concept will also make their public debuts.
Based on the new Honda Civic hatch launched Down Under in November, the next Type R flagship is due to arrive in Australia late this year or in early 2023.