2023 Civic Type R Prototype Make U.S. Debut at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
It was still wearing full camouflage, but the 2023 Civic Type R prototype was the lead vehicle at the Honda Indy 200 race.
The 2023 Civic Type R is finally here! Sort of. It is on U.S. soil at least. It was the lead car at the Honda Indy 200 race held on July 3 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. We got to watch it take a lap but of course it was still wearing the full set of camouflage. The official reveal will have to wait but the fact that it is now here and turning some laps is a good sign. Another good sign is that while the car was still under wraps you can tell the styling is a little less, how do we say it? A little less, butt ugly than the FK8 generation.
OK, calling it ugly might be a bit harsh, but the look of the FK8 is certainly polarizing. And that is a bit of a shame because while folks may be divided on the looks, everyone agreed with what it was like to drive. And that is brilliantly. The 2023 Civic Type R will likely drive even better and have more conventional styling that should make it appeal to an even larger audience. Honda dealers can’t wait to break out the sharpies to write huge “market adjustment” numbers next to the MSRP when these begin to arrive. Especially if it regains the crown as the fastest FWD car around the Nürburgring.
Lap Times
Speaking of the ‘Ring we know the car has been doing a lot of testing there, and we anticipate that it will be even quicker than the previous version. What we don’t yet know is how it will do it. The 2023 Civic Type R will likely have a bit more power, but it will likely not be a massive power gain. We expect it to keep the 2.0L turbo four but squeeze maybe another 25 horsepower or so out of it. So, with only a modest power gain the CTR is going to need to reduce lap times by reducing weight. Or with improved suspension and better brakes. No matter what the final formula ends up being, we have no doubt that the 2023 car will be very quick indeed.
Assumptions
We have an idea of the general shape, and we know it will be quick, but we don’t know a whole lot else yet. So, we need to make some assumptions. We already guessed at what the power output will be. We will further guess that the MSRP will likely cross the $40,000 barrier. But hopefully stay under $45,000. At least before the greedy dealers begin to line their pockets with ADM. We also believe the 2023 Civic Type R will be on sale before the end of the year. And finally, we believe this could be the last Type R to not use any type of electrification.
At Home
Checkout the video below to see the 2023 Civic Type R where it feels most at home. A racetrack. This car is going to embarrass a lot of cars on a road course that cost a fair bit more than what Honda will ask for its jewel of a sedan. We can’t wait for the full reveal and the announcement of all the final specifications.
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