Honda Cars Philippines Inc. (HCPI) is starting 2023 on a high note as it officially launched the all-new Civic Type R.
The 2023 Honda Civic Type R, codenamed FL5, is said to be engineered to be the fastest Type R to date. Guided by the Ultimate Sport 2.0 concept, the Japanese automaker built the all-new Civic Type R with the goal of surpassing the outgoing model’s performance, the FK8. Honda shared that the new model was developed with the goal of achieving “pure sports performance that attains the ultimate in speed and the joy of driving.”
Based on the 11th-generation Civic hatchback, Honda designed the all-new Civic Type R longer, lower, and wider than the outgoing model. It is also wider by 90mm and lower by 8mm as compared to the regular or standard Civic. In case you’re wondering the 2023 Honda Civic Type R measures 4,593mm long, 1,890mm wide, and 1,407mm. It has a wheelbase of 2,735mm, and a 123mm ground clearance.
One can argue that the FL5 has an imposing stance thanks to the wide fenders, which are also meant to control airflow from front to rear. The front fascia is highlighted by the sharp-looking LED headlights along with the glossy black honeycomb grille.
The side profile features a straight character line, resulting in a more streamlined look compared to the old Civic Type R. You also can’t miss the 19-inch alloy wheels in matte black, which complements the hot hatch’s Championship White exterior paint.
The rear gets a set of distinctive LED taillights as well as a prominent spoiler. Glossy black trims continue to be seen at the FL5’s rear while the triple exhaust layout has been retained.
Inside, it has a black theme with an abundant red accent as seen on the Type R front bucket seats. It also gets a 9-inch infotainment touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay, 12 Bose speakers, and a 10.2-inch digital gauge cluster.
Aside from those, the new Civic Type R comes with Honda’s LogR Performance Datalogger. LogR combines the vehicle’s onboard sensors with a built-in app that records driving performance on the track. It monitors Lap Time info, Heat Map, and Driving Data Summary, among others.
Honda’s hot hatch is powered by a 2.0-liter DOHC VTEC gasoline engine that puts out 316 hp and 420 Nm of torque. It still comes with a six-speed manual transmission with rev-matching. The 2023 Honda Civic Type R comes with the following drive modes: Comfort, Individual, Sport, and +R.
Honda Sensing driver assist system is also integrated into the all-new Civic Type R. It includes adaptive cruise control (ACC), low speed follow, lane keeping assist system (LKAS), road departure mitigation (RDM) lane departure warning (LDW), collision mitigation braking system (CMBS), forward collision warning (FCW) and auto high beam.
Honda Cars Philippines said that the all-new 2023 Honda Civic Type R retails at Php 3,880,000, and it is limited to 39 units as of this writing. Available exterior colors are Championship White and Racing Blue Pearl.
Get more of the latest automotive news in Philkotse.