Honda secures more Civic Type R stock

HONDA Australia has announced reduced wait times for customers who have placed an order for the Civic Type R.

Honda said this week that is has been “continuously monitoring the situation around extended wait times” and that it has “sought opportunities to minimise the impact to Civic Type R customers”.

Now, the importer has secured an additional 500 units of the Civic Type R for Australian delivery which it states, “will be made available for customers in 2023”. Estimated arrival times for those customers have been reduced by up to nine months, says Honda Australia, with “the latest orders now scheduled for February 2024”.

As reported by GoAuto earlier this year, wait times for the Japanese hot hatch were approaching 24 months, with over 1000 orders on the books in Australia alone.

The delays stemmed from an overwhelming number of orders for the fastest front-wheel drive Honda has ever produced – particularly in the United States, Europe and Japan – which forced a stop-sale order on the model in January.

Now, with production catching up on demand, the wait times are beginning to return to normal.

“I am pleased that we have been able to allocate additional stock of the all-new Civic Type R for the Australian market, and that our loyal customers will benefit from the arrival of their vehicle within a reasonable timeframe,” said Honda Australia director, Carolyn McMahon.

Ms McMahon said that Honda Centres across the country have already started contacting customers with an update to their specific delivery date.

She said that in the case of all future model launches, Honda Australia will always endeavour to ensure that sufficient stock levels are acquired for customer demands but noted that production lead times are susceptible to “worldwide issues in (the) supply chain, including the global shortage of semiconductor parts”.

The Honda Civic Type R is priced from $72,600 drive-away nationally and offers 235kW at 6500rpm and 420Nm from 2600-4000rpm to make it the most powerful yet… and also the most expensive.

Honda’s hot hatch predecessor was priced at $54,990 before on-road costs, which placed it within reach of rivals including the Hyundai i30 N (from $46,200 +ORCs), Mini JCW (from $60,380 +ORCs), Renault Megane RS Trophy (from $62,300 +ORCs), Subaru WRX tS (from $56,990 +ORCs), Toyota GR Corolla (from $62,300 +ORCs) and Volkswagen Golf R (from $65,990 +ORCs).

It is now more closely priced to rival all-wheel drive performance hatches from German premium brands, including the Audi S3 (from $70,800 +ORCs) and BMW M135i xDrive Pure (from $67,900 +ORCs).

According to Honda, the front-wheel drive and six-speed manual hot hatch promises a more responsive and “more thrilling to drive” experience than before, the K20C1 engine boasting a redesigned turbocharger and more efficient exhaust system to offer improvements of 7kW and 20Nm over the previous model.

Honda says it has retuned the Civic Type R’s dual-axis strut front and multilink rear suspension to improve straight-line stability and steering feel. While two-piece front rotors reduce unsprung mass and improve braking performance.

The Type R rides on 19-inch matte black alloy wheels shod with 265/30 profile Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres.

On the equipment front, the Australian 2023 Honda Civic Type R will offer individual drive modes, an active exhaust valve, 10.2-inch digital driver display, a 9.0-inch infotainment array with wireless Apple CarPlay, wireless phone charger, Honda LogR telemetry system, sat nav, folding door mirrors, and ambient door and footwell lighting.

The Civic Type R shares much of its safety equipment with the Civic VTi LX including a full complement of airbags, blind-spot information system, rear cross-traffic alert, speed limiter, driver attention monitor and more.

Inside, the cockpit includes the Civic Type R’s iconic red seats, carpet and trim, a redesigned aluminium shift knob and a serialised Type R build plate affixed to the dashboard.

Locally, the Civic Type R is offered in a range of four paint colours including Championship White, Rally Red, Crystal Black and Sonic Grey.