All-new Honda Civic Type R launched in Malaysia

Mention ‘Type R’ and the pulse of a car enthusiast will accelerate. The ‘Type R’ badge which signifies the top-performing Honda models straight from the factory first appeared on the NSX in the early 1990s but it was only from 1995 onwards when the Integra Type R (DC2) debuted that the badge started to become famous.

But it would be the Civic Type R that would be the most famous, starting with the 6^th generation EK9 which debuted in the Japanese market in 1997. While Europe had the Civic Type R in hatchback form, the sedan version was pretty much confined to the Japanese market, making it s much desired JDM (Japan Domestic Market) model that private importers would make a lot of money from.

First country outside Japan
Malaysia became the first country outside Japan to officially sell the Civic Type R sedan in 2007, and it was thanks to Seiji Kuraishi, Chairman of Honda Motor Company’s Board of Directors today. Back in the early 2000s, Mr. Kuraishi was Managing Director of Honda Malaysia and local media often appealed to him to bring the Civic Type R to Malaysia.

Upon his departure, he said that he would look into it when he returned to Japan. And it so happened that his next position had the responsibility for global product planning. He must have remembered how much Malaysians wanted the Type R and gave it serious consideration, eventually getting it to be officially introduced in Malaysia.

Thereafter, Honda also began to slowly increase the availability of the Civic Type R for other markets to the extent that by 2017, with the FK8 model, it was also available for official sale in the US market where the Civic has always been popular.

Most powerful Type R ever
With the Civic moving into its 11th generation, the Type R version also had its own change and for the latest version, Honda’s engineers have developed the most powerful Type R ever. Its output of 319 bhp is even higher than the final NSX Type R which had 290 bhp (and it had a 3.2-litre V6 engine).

After being launched in Thailand and Indonesia, Malaysian fans have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the new Civic Type R and it finally arrived today. The price was expected to be RM400,000+ – probably more with the weaker ringgit these days – but Honda Malaysia has set it at RM399,900 (without insurance), almost RM80,000 more than the previous generation.

Only 19 units for 2023
It’s not surprising that wherever the new Civic Type R has been launched, dealers have received lots orders so demand worldwide is great. Honda Malaysia has been able to secure just 19 units for 2023 but as there are many more orders than that number, it has decided to have a ballot to select the 19 customers who will be lucky enough to own the car this year.

The others will have to wait till 2024 when more units will be imported from Japan. Incidentally, although there are 5 colour choices, Honda Malaysia will import the Civic Type R in just one colour – the iconic Championship White.

As it has been over a year since the new Civic Type R – which is the only Type R model has now – was launched, it is already familiar to most people. So we’ll just briefly recap the main technical details and features.

Civic Hatchback bodystyle
Though the design looks like the latest Civic Sedan, the Type R version actually has the bodywork of the hatchback variant, which is not sold here. As would be expected, it sits lower and has a wider stance with muscular wheelarches. Out of the factory, the 19-inch wheels with Brembo brakes are shod with Pilot Sport 4S tyres which Michelin specially developed for the car.

The 4-cylinder 2-litre turbocharged VTEC engine (made in America and shipped to the factory in Japan) is a much more powerful version of the K20C1 powerplant and its output has been boosted to 319 bhp at 6,500 rpm with 420 Nm available from 2,600 rpm up to 4,000 rpm.

The sound of the engine can be enhanced with the opening of the active exhaust valve at higher rpm – and this is real engine sound, not some soundtrack that gives the ‘emotional feeling’ of being in a sportscar that doesn’t have a combustion engine.

Fastest FWD car around Nurburgring
This gives the car a 5.5-second capability from 0 to 100 km/h and the top speed is claimed to be 272 km/h. But you can believe it is very fast because in April this year, the latest Civic Type R covered the 20.8-km Nurburgring circuit in 7.44. 881 minutes. That makes it the fastest front-wheel drive production model at the circuit.

A manual transmission!
For too long, we have been reporting on new models in the market and they have come with either an automatic transmission, dual-clutch transmission or CVT. So it’s refreshing to write that the new Civic Type R is offered with just a good old 6-speed MANUAL transmission. But there’s nothing ‘old’ or basic about this gearbox as it has a lightened flywheel and rev-match system, with a helical-type limited-slip differential as standard to get all the engine power to the road.

Sporty red interior
The first thing that will hit you when you look into the cabin would probably be the bright red sports seats, carpet and trim. The shifter is short knob made from aluminium and each car will have its own identification plate on the dashboard.

The clean dashboard is similar to that in the standard Civic with the nice honeycomb mesh that runs  from one side to the other. It’s visually appealing and also hides the air vents.

Honda LogR Performance Datalogger
Besides the new digital instrument panel, there is also the Honda LogR Performance Datalogger. This has been around a while but has been enhanced. A lot of data can be recorded while racing around a track which the driver can later study to see how to improve lap times.

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