After more than six years since it was last offered for sale on a Honda vehicle locally, the famous red ‘H’ badge has made its long-awaited return to Australia, with the first shipment of the all-new Civic Type R arriving into Melbourne last month. And the demand for this vehicle will finally be filled with 350+ dealer orders already confirmed (some of them for novated leases).
Hot hatches are one of the favourite vehicle categories at Fleet Auto News so we’re glad to see another challenger in the market.
The first car to drive off the ship at Port of Melbourne’s Webb Dock facility and officially mark the return of the Type R name to Australian shores was a striking Rally Red example, which is earmarked to serve as a media evaluation vehicle over the coming months.
It was followed by around 60 customer cars that will soon be on their way to Honda dealerships across Victoria, South Australia and the Northern Territory, before being delivered to their new owners.
More shipments of the all-new Honda Civic Type R will arrive over the coming weeks, with more than 400 vehicles scheduled to arrive before the end of the year to satisfy the significant early demand for the Nürburgring Nordschleife lap-record holder.
“The ultimate in Civic performance and a direct manifestation of Honda’s racing spirit, experience and heritage, the Type R stands as a banner of Honda’s commitment to creating products that put customers – and enthusiasts – at the centre of everything it does,” said Honda Australia Director, Mr. Stephen Collins.
“Since the Civic Type R prototype was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show last year, the anticipation surrounding Honda’s next-generation high-performance hot hatch has continued to build, so it’s incredibly exciting to have the first cars here now and it won’t be long until we’ll start to see them out on the road.
“The arrival of the all-new Civic Type R is the culmination of 18 months of intense new product activity for Honda Australia that has seen our entire line-up of vehicles either refreshed, updated or all-new models introduced to market.”
The all-new Honda Civic Type R will offer customers an unrivalled combination of everyday useability and track-honed dynamism. Powered by a 2.0-litre VTEC Turbo engine producing 228 kW of power and 400 Nm peak torque, and mated to a close-ratio six-speed manual transmission with rev-matching function, the Type R has been tuned to deliver flexible and exhilarating performance.
The move to one global platform for all models in the tenth-generation Civic line-up paved the way for the return of the Civic Type R to Australia. Globally, this is the fifth-generation of the legendary Civic Type R – the original Civic Type R was launched as a Japan-only model in 1997, while only the second and third generation models were previously available in Australia.
Engineered from the ground up to deliver the most rewarding driving experience in the hot hatch segment – both on road and on the race track – the Civic Type R retains the heritage of Honda’s high performance hatchback bloodline, combining expertly-tuned front-wheel drive chassis dynamics with aggressive design and finely-honed aerodynamics.
The new Honda Civic Type R will be available in a single feature-packed specification, offering a compelling mix of performance and equipment, priced at $50,990*.
Standard equipment for Australia includes adaptive dampers with three driving modes, Brembo brake package, 20-inch alloy wheels, the full Honda Sensing suite of safety and driver-assist technologies, plus class-leading interior space.
“Honda is renowned for pushing the boundaries of engineering and technology, and the result is the ultimate in Civic performance,” added Mr. Collins.
“The all-new Civic Type R showcases the very best that Honda can produce in a front-wheel drive performance car.”
* Manufacturer’s List Price (MLP) excludes Dealer Delivery and statutory charges.
