2023 Honda Civic Type R: Lower, wider and now with 315 horsepower

Just how powerful is the 2023 Civic Type R, “the most powerful Honda production vehicle ever sold in the U.S.?” Well, now we know: 315 horsepower at 6500 rpm and 310 lb.-ft. of torque at 2600-4000 rpm. (An improvement of 9 horsepower and 15 lb.-ft. of torque compared to the outgoing Type R.)

All that power is made possible by …

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I was so close.....  I guessed 5 more hp in a thread here a while back.  

315 HP? Like the new Z?

I figured it would be higher, like 340.

I always wondered...

Wouldn't a measurement like, "total HP under the curve" more useful?

Or is it just easier to express the whole thing as a number, even if that number only occurs at the top of a giant peak at 7k rpm?

In reply to CrustyRedXpress :

Yes, but those peak numbers sell cars.  You are exhibiting a level of critical thinking the average person isn't capable of,  

Looks great. So much better than the previous gen. If I needed a dad mobile, this would likely be at the top of the list. 

I grew to like the previous CTR - especially in darker colors - but this one looks so much better.  Unfortunately, I'm grasping at straws looking for any justification to buy a car this expensive that I will rarely drive.

That's fascinating that the wheelbase is longer than the standard civic. That kind of implies to me that the chassis itself is different, as opposed to just what they bolt onto it.

I didn't realize they differentiated the Type R that much.

In reply to BA5 :

They did the same thing with the old ITR. Windshield was specc'd thinner for weight savings, etc

AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to CrustyRedXpress :

Yes, but those peak numbers sell cars.  You are exhibiting a level of critical thinking the average person isn't capable of,  

Exactly. This is the same as how advertizers learned long ago that saying "you can make UPTO $10K a week", that people fixate on that number and internalize it as truth.

calteg said:

In reply to BA5 :

They did the same thing with the old ITR. Windshield was specc'd thinner for weight savings, etc

OH yeah, a bunch of extra chassis welding, 5 lug hubs, etc. 

The wheelbase is the same as the base hatch.  But it is wider than the base Civic.  The hood was aluminum on the 10th gen too, so that is not new.  It will be an amazing machine, but with expected markups, I'll just keep my FK8.

This seems better in every way than the outgoing car

Let's fact-check that claim.

Honda small engines top out with the iGXV800 at 24.9hp. 

Honda outboards max out at 250hp. 

Honda car/truck engines top out at 280hp.

The Hondajet makes 2,050 pound-force. Hard to convert to HP, but seems like more than 315.

For reference, the NA1 NSX made 270hp, the NA2 made 290, but both were Acura products.

The new NSX debuted with 573, the Type S bumped that to 602. 

In reply to z31maniac :

Well, four-lug wheels at first. :) 

David S. Wallens said:

In reply to z31maniac :

Well, four-lug wheels at first. :) 

Oh dang, I thought all ITR's were 5 lug. Chalk it up to learning something new!

CrustyRedXpress said:

I always wondered...

Wouldn't a measurement like, "total HP under the curve" more useful?

Or is it just easier to express the whole thing as a number, even if that number only occurs at the top of a giant peak at 7k rpm?

It is a turbo engine, so I assume it has a big fat midrange and runs out of breath up top. 

Edit:  See the torque figures: peak torque of 310 ft-lb from 2600 to 4000.  So it is all low end and midrange and no top end scream.

In reply to z31maniac :

USDM Integra Type R got five-lug wheels. The first JDM cars, though, came with four-lug wheels. 

Pretty sure consumers (i.e., CA) would still take it with 250hp, but less fugliness . . .

David S. Wallens said:

In reply to z31maniac :

USDM Integra Type R got five-lug wheels. The first JDM cars, though, came with four-lug wheels. 

Gotcha, that makes sense. I was only referring to USDM. 

I try not to cry myself to sleep with all the cool JDM cars that never make it over here. 

In reply to z31maniac :

I hear ya. At least now we can get many of them. 

Looks way better than the previous car. Now make it a coupe and lose that screen on top of the dash!

I am not a Honda person, but the new Civic looks good!

Is that Ford Grabber blue in the one picture?  That color seems popular these last few years.

David S. Wallens said:

In reply to z31maniac :

I hear ya. At least now we can get many of them. 

A good buddy of mine I work with is on his 2nd imported early 90s van (first one was rear ended and totaled less than a month after getting it). 

It's so incredibly rad. He already has 3 piece wheels on it and everything.