News Desk [January 13th, 2022]

Feast your eyes on the 2023 Honda Civic Type R.

Okay no, this is not a full reveal. In typical Honda fashion, the company is showing off a near-production prototype that leaves pretty much nothing to the imagination. It does leave you wondering why they still have the camo wrap on it when they usually remove that for their prototypes. Nevertheless, let’s dive into the footage.

The Tokyo Auto Salon, taking place this weekend, is where Honda will be displaying the Type R prototype in person for the first time. This footage is meant to prove that they are still hard at work making final adjustments, specifically on the track at Suzuka Circuit in Japan. As you can see, it retains the massive rear wing that offended some people with the outgoing car, and will still be offered only as a hatchback. Otherwise, we still do not know much about this car.

It is unclear whether they are going to introduce a brand new engine or add an automatic transmission this time. Honda has previously admitted they don’t have an automatic transmission that can handle the 300+ horsepower this car currently produces. The 10-speed from the Accord, while a great automatic, apparently doesn’t work. With Hyundai now offering a wet dual-clutch automatic in its ‘N’ models, you would think Honda might also want to make the Type R more accessible to more people. Perhaps they will surprise us.

Aside from this lovely footage, the only other detail given is that the Type R will be fully revealed later this year. In the meantime, feast your eyes on even more camo-wrapped eye candy:

Take a look at the next-generation U.S.-specific HR-V.

The Honda HR-V is well overdue for a redesign in the United States, leaving Honda fans wondering how similar our version will be to the European one introduced in 2020. That model, seen below, is a pretty drastic departure from the 1st generation and can even be had as a full-electric variant called the e:HEV.

The time has finally come for Honda to show us a sneak peak of the HR-V we should expect to see here by the end of this year. The company released two sketches this morning showing off the front and rear of the car, albeit with the caricature meter cranked up just a hair. First spied back in November 2021, these sketches confirm that the vehicle you see testing on U.S. soil here is definitely the design we should expect when this thing is fully unveiled.

The only detail provided other than these sketches is that the HR-V will be revealed this year, so it remains to be seen what kind of powertrains we can expect from the little guy, as well as whether there will be any electrified versions on offer. Stay tuned for more on this in the coming months!