This year’s Tokyo Auto Salon brought a lot of head-turning modified cars held last January 13 to 15. But the concept car that grabbed the attention of the auto show is the all-new Honda Civic Type R-GT as it won the Best Concept Car award.
The Best Concept Car at the 2023 Tokyo Auto Salon
Based on the road-going Honda Civic Type R, the Civic Type R-GT concept earned the grand prize award at the Tokyo International Custom Car Contest 2023. While no exact performance details were disclosed, the award-winning concept car features wide body kits, a massive radiator grille, and a livery representing Honda Racing Co., Ltd. (HRC).
Honda did announce that the new concept car is currently being developed to deliver a “pure sports performance.” It will be competing in Japan’s top-tier racing series, Super GT, in the GT500 class of the 2024 season.
With that being said, the Honda Civic Type R-GT should be replacing the NSX-GT by 2024. As per the class’ regulations, the upcoming Honda racecar should be fitted with a 2.0-liter inline-4 turbocharged engine restricted to around 650 horsepower. The power unit should be paired with a 6-speed paddle shift gearbox.
Honda Civic Type R-GT concept
While the road-going model is front-wheel-drive (FWD), the Super GT counterpart should utilize a rear-wheel-drive (RWD) system to conform to racing regulations. Upon the Super GT debut, the Civic Type R-GT looks to follow Honda’s championship season in 2020 with the NSX-GT. It should be competing against the Nissan Z GT500 and Toyota GR Supra GT500 if the two Japanese automakers won’t replace their entries.
“I am very honored that the Civic Type R-GT Concept was selected for the Grand Prize in the concept car category," said HRC President and CEO Koji Watanabe (translated from Japanese to English). “Please look forward to the 2024 season of Super GT, which will compete with a machine bearing the name of ‘TYPE R,’ a pure sports model.”
See more interesting car concepts at Philkotse.com.