The 2017 Honda Civic Type R will reach the coast of Australia next year, and the starting price will be $50,000. The Type R will compete against Volkswagen Golf R and Ford Focus RS.
The Australian public loves hatchbacks, and Ford Focus RS proves that with the waiting lists, whereas Mercedes-AMG A45 which is more expensive is sold here in large numbers. That is why Honda expects big things in Australia.
Ever since the concept Type R has been presented at Paris Motor Show in September, it has been popular on social media, but also in real life, as Honda Australia claims. The details about this hot hatch, which is supposed to go out in the UK are still unfamiliar, but its engine should produce 230 kWh and 400 Nm of torque.
Despite the fact that most rivals such as Audi RS3 or aforementioned Focus RS are AWD, Honda decided to keep their Type R an FWD vehicle. The top speed of the current version is 168 mph whereas it takes it 5.7 seconds to reach 62 mph. We think that these numbers will improve on the next model that will have more power and our expectations are that it should go from 0-62 mph in under 5.5 seconds.
The engine is paired to a six-speed manual transmission, and we believe that the 2017 Civic Type R is capable of breaking the FWD record on Nurburgring track. According to Honda Australia director Stephen Collins, the Japanese manufacturer hopes to sell up to 200 vehicles per month.
Collins said: “We don’t want it to be a fringe car where you don’t ever see one, though it’ll depend on the price of course…We just want to get the car to market, get it out there, I want to drive one as my daily car!”
“There’s a group of people just hanging on this car coming,” he added. “I know a number of our dealers are holding orders, we’ve basically said ‘don’t officially take orders until we confirm full details’.
Moreover, he stated: “But there’s huge interest among enthusiasts who know Type R, we expect that to gain momentum ahead of the third-quarter launch… there are definitely the diehards who’ve had or wanted to have a Type R previously, but then there’s also the conquest-type buyers who just want the hottest hatch in the market and it’s our goal to deliver that.”
The Type R has been spotted testing in Australia, but as the reports suggest Honda Australia was not in charge of these tests. The return of the Civic Type R to the Australian market is exciting so stay tuned for more details.
