The most powerful and quickest Civic Type R yet around a given racetrack, what Honda calls FL5 rolled out in 2022 for the 2023 model year. It's the first CTR since the FD2 to be made in the Japanese automaker's home market, and similarly to the FD2, the current generation is rocking a K-series engine.
The only Civic Type R to feature something different from the K is – of course – the one that started it all. Offered in the Japanese domestic market alone between 1997 and 2000, the iconic EK9 came with three doors rather than the current gen's five doors.
Tipping the scales at 1,040 kilograms, as in 2,293 pounds, the original is a bonafide lightweight compared to the Civic Type R in production today. Speaking of which, the JDM-spec FL5 is listed by Honda with a curb weight of 1,430 kilograms (3,153 pounds).
Pixel artist Rain Prisk, who served as vehicle designer at Ubisoft between 2017 and 2019, is a huge fan of the first-generation Civic Type R. So much so that he calls the EK9 his favorite while lambasting the last two generations for being closer to sedans in exterior styling than hatchbacks. Given his take on the CTR's design, Prisk modified the FL5 in Photoshop to look more like the low-volume EK9.
While there's no denying that Prisk's rendering is a 10 out of 10 in every respect, one has to remember that three-door hatchbacks are nigh-on extinct because of consumer preference in all things four wheels. Pivoting to crossover utility vehicles, to be more precise, a trend that's extremely obvious in the EU.
Photo: Rain Prisk / edited by autoevolution
Having mentioned in brief that Honda's original EK9 is a rare breed, care to guess how many of them were finished between 1997 and 2000? Including the N1-spec Motor Sports Edition, the grand total is 16,421 units. Think 7,007 for the 1998 model year, which is referred to as EK9-100, plus 4,009 for 1999 and a further 5,225 examples for model year 2000.
The EK9 sported a naturally-aspirated I4 with a displacement of 1.6 liters, hence the internal codename B16B of said engine. Good for 8,400 revolutions per minute, this four-cylinder screamer produces maximum power at 8,200 revolutions per minute. In regard to power per liter, the B16B of the EK9 CTR was the most badass normally-aspirated engine of its era.
185 ps (182 hp) and 160 Nm (118 pound-feet) may not be impressive by current standards, but remember that 1997 is 26 years ago (going on 27 years ago). Engine technology was completely different back then. Although introduced in 2001, the K continues to be manufactured because Honda continuously updated this engine family. The FL5 uses the K20C1, which rolled out in 2015 for the FK2 generation.
Rated at 315 horsepower and 310 pound-feet (420 Nm) in the US market, the K20C1 also saw application in the Acura Integra Type S. The pricier sibling of the CTR is a bit punchier as well, with Acura quoting 320 horsepower at full chatter. The Civic Type R for Japan develops 330 metric horsepower, as in 325 mechanical ponies, therefore making it more powerful than the Integra Type S.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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