Test drive: 2022 Honda Civic Hatcback
The 2022 Honda Civic Hatchback is kind of throwback to the original, Fox News Autos Editor Gary Gastelu finds out.
Honda's smallest car has a big claim to fame.
The 2023 Civic Type R is the most powerful model the brand has ever offered to American customers.
The high performance version of the compact hatchback has an Ohio-built turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that sends 315 horsepower to the front wheels.
That is nine more horsepower than the previous generation, which was sold from 2017 to 2021.
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The 2023 Honda Civic Type R has a 315 hp engine. (Honda)
Honda does sell the American-made 600 hp Acura NSX supercar in Japan as a Honda, however, making it the brand's most-powerful model worldwide.
The Civic Type R comes with a six-speed manual transmission and final assembly takes place in Japan.
The Civic Type R's rear wing produces downforce at high speeds. (Honda)
Along with the power, which is just shy of twice that of the 158 hp base Civic hatchback, the Type R also gets flared fenders for a wider track to improve handling, stronger brakes and a suspension tuned for high speed track driving.
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It also features a racing car-style rear wing supported by aluminum stanchions that improves downforce at high speeds.
The Civic Type R is only offered with a six-speed manual transmission. (Honda)
The Civic Type R set a track record for front-wheel-drive cars at Japan's Suzuka Circuit. It has also been tested at Germany's Nurburgring, where the previous generator once set the fastest lap time in the class, but Honda has not released a time for the new model.
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Pricing will be announced closer to when deliveries begin this fall, but the 2021 Civic Type R started at $38,910.