Photo: Honda on YouTube
June 2020 will mark three years since chief engineer Hideki Matsumoto said that Honda is working on more variants of the Civic Type R. The all-wheel-drive option is still nowhere to be seen, and a more recent report on the future paints an underwhelming picture.
Motor1 recently had a chat with Hideki Kakinoma, the project leader of the 2020 model year Civic Type R. According to the man in question, “Honda has no immediate plans for the Type R outside of the Civic.” Expanding this nameplate to a crossover or utility vehicle is out of the question too. Acura, meanwhile, has no access to the Type R badge because the luxury brand boasts the Type S.
Remember when the Integra was available in Type R configuration? The original NSX was also offered with Type R goodies, designated NSX-R in the Japanese domestic market. The question is, why is Honda so intent on keeping this badge exclusive to the Civic Type R instead of expanding the range?
“Deciding against the expansion of the Type R name is a matter of purity,” reads a statement from Honda, and that’s a bit counterproductive once you take a look at the Germans. BMW has standalone M, M Performance models, and M options. Mercedes-AMG follows pretty much the same formula, and even the Ford Motor Company has slapped the Mustang nameplate on an electric crossover that’s built in Mexico on a different platform from the actual Mustang.
It’s hard to imagine what Honda could add to the go-faster range in addition to the Civic Type R, more so because the NSX is marketed as an Acura in the United States of America. But on the flip side, the Japanese company has sold more automobiles in 2019 than in any other year since it was established.
This is an obvious indicator that Honda isn’t going to apply the Type R formula to other passenger cars or utility vehicles for the sake of increased sales. There were rumors circulating on the Interwebs about the all-new Jazz going down the route of the Civic Type R in 2021, but so far, Honda hasn’t confirmed a thing.
Remember when the Integra was available in Type R configuration? The original NSX was also offered with Type R goodies, designated NSX-R in the Japanese domestic market. The question is, why is Honda so intent on keeping this badge exclusive to the Civic Type R instead of expanding the range?
“Deciding against the expansion of the Type R name is a matter of purity,” reads a statement from Honda, and that’s a bit counterproductive once you take a look at the Germans. BMW has standalone M, M Performance models, and M options. Mercedes-AMG follows pretty much the same formula, and even the Ford Motor Company has slapped the Mustang nameplate on an electric crossover that’s built in Mexico on a different platform from the actual Mustang.
It’s hard to imagine what Honda could add to the go-faster range in addition to the Civic Type R, more so because the NSX is marketed as an Acura in the United States of America. But on the flip side, the Japanese company has sold more automobiles in 2019 than in any other year since it was established.
This is an obvious indicator that Honda isn’t going to apply the Type R formula to other passenger cars or utility vehicles for the sake of increased sales. There were rumors circulating on the Interwebs about the all-new Jazz going down the route of the Civic Type R in 2021, but so far, Honda hasn’t confirmed a thing.
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