Dear America: when was the last time we actually woke up to good news? I think for me it was sometime last year, when Martin Shkreli got arrested. At last we finally have something good to wake up to and look forward to in the future: this is what the next Honda Civic Type R will look like. And holy crap, it is delightfully crazy.


What you’re looking at is the Honda Civic Type R prototype, a concept unveiled at the Paris Motor Show today that is destined for an American at debut at (of course) the SEMA show in Las Vegas in November. It is a very production-ready concept that previews what the actual car should look like. A Civic Si variant will also drop next year, Honda said.


Based on the recently-unveiled new Civic hatchback, the next Type R is bigger than the small hatch it replaces, and a global car for the first time pretty much ever. It will also be the first time a Civic Type R has come to America. Tweaks include carbon fiber side skirts, 20-inch piano black alloy wheels, 245-section high-performance tires, a wild-looking dual center exhaust, and a rear spoiler that will probably force the tuner cars at SEMA to frantically up their game before the show opens to the public.

No word yet on power, but word on the street is it’s expected to use the turbo 2.0-liter engine in the current Type-R but with even more power, maybe as much as 340 horses. It will be built in Honda’s UK plant in Swindon, then sent all over the world for shenanigans.

Count me in on those. It’s nice to have hope again.


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