Honda Civic Type R Moves to Nurburgring Prototype Testing, Expected Stateside

We spied the new Civic Type R last month, but back then the test vehicle we shot was still a test mule. The fast Honda has now moved to the prototype stage, which means it packs the new car’s body. And while there are tons of camouflage covering the car, there are certain elements, such as the rear wing, which can probably be seen from the moon.

Unless they're working for Honda, don’t trust anybody telling you they know the details of the future Civic Type R right now. However, it’s not difficult to check out the stellar performance (for a front-wheel-drive hot hatch) of the current model and build sweet expectations.

The Type R is already extremely fast for a front-wheel-drive piece of kit

In its current form, a Type R badge placed on a Civic brings a two-liter turbo dialed all the way up to 306 hp and 295 lb-ft (400 Nm) of twist. While that doesn’t make the JDM-flavored machine quite as fast as the new Focus RS (Ford has recently announced the go-fast numbers), it will still get it to 60 mph in 5.7 seconds and round the Nurburgring in 7:50.63.

Perhaps in a more important set of expectations, we believe the upcoming Type R will land in the US. Rumor has it the new Civic will first show up in sedan incarnation, being followed by the coupe and the hatchback. As for the Type R, this should come to the world next year as a 2017 model.

We’re expecting the Civic to be good enough to help educate the American consumer in terms of hot hatches. No pressure or anything.