© Provided by MotorTrend Honda Civic Type R Concept Paris

Honda’s highly anticipated Civic Type R hot hatchback is nearing to its production debut, and the company is revealing more specs of this turbocharged Civic at this year’s Paris auto show. Although Honda will only show another concept version of the Civic Type R, the company is giving more information about the car’s suspension and other tech specs before the Type R debuts in production form early next year.

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The newest Honda Civic Type R will be powered by a new 2.0-liter i-VTEC turbocharged four-cylinder engine that is the first forced-induction powerplant included in Honda’s Earth Dreams engine family. We still don’t know the exact horsepower number, as Honda is simply quoting “ more than 276 hp,” but we do now know the redline will be at a lofty 7000 rpm and power will be routed through a six-speed manual transmission.

This turbocharged four-cylinder engine will be the first of many for Honda, as the company will use versions of this same powertrain, along with smaller turbo engines, more often in the future. Mainstream models in the U.S. like the Accord and CR-V may soon adopt these Earth Dreams turbo fours in order to achieve better fuel economy and emissions.

For sharp handling, the Honda Civic Type R will use a Honda-developed adaptive damper system at all four corners. This suspension control will be configurable with the car’s new +R mode button, which increases responsiveness of both the engine and steering and stiffens the suspension. No doubt that this race-oriented mode, along with a new “kingpin” system for the front suspension that quells torque steer, will be put to the test when Honda attempts to achieve its goal of breaking the Nürburgring lap record for front-wheel-drive production cars with the Civic Type R.

Honda’s newest concept version of the Civic Type R sports a bright blue color scheme as opposed to the red concept shown at the Geneva show earlier this year. It otherwise looks identical and should closely preview the production version, although the aggressive front fascia, oversized wheels, and large rear wing may be toned down a bit for production.

At this point we don’t have any expectation that the Honda Civic Type R will make it to the U.S., as it has always been forbidden fruit for our market. Look for the latest Honda Civic Type R concept’s debut this week at the 2014 Paris auto show, and expect to hear more production details as we near its official launch in early 2015.

Source: Honda