Kon'nichiwa: 2023 Honda Civic Type R Greets the Audience at the Tokyo Auto Salon

As you probably knew from our previous coverage, the new-generation front-wheel drive hot hatch is actually in prototype form at the event hosted in Japan’s capital, wearing the same specially-designed camouflage that we have become accustomed to.

Meant to hide the final styling until it premieres later this year, the vinyl stickers, wrapped around its entire body, may look like they have a Christmas pattern. However, zoom in, and you will see that they combine the red ‘R’ logo on a dark background and feature white sketches of the previous generations' Civic Type Rs.

Besides having their Volkswagen Golf GTI, Ford Focus ST, Renault Megane RS, and Hyundai i30 N rival sitting under the spotlight, Honda says that visitors can get a taste of the development process in a new video that shows it in action at the Suzuka Circuit. We’ve also embedded it at the bottom of this story, but before scrolling down to it, we will remind you that the new Civic Type R is set to launch in North America this summer.

It is likely that prior to embarking on a trip across the ocean, it will start arriving at dealers in other markets, such as Japan and Europe, featuring a more aggressive design compared to the new-gen Civic, different suspension, uprated brakes, and a punchy engine under the hood.

The 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder unit will work in concert with a six-speed manual transmission and front-wheel drive, the company based in the Land of the Rising Sun has confirmed, while keeping the output and torque a secret. Nonetheless, we could be looking at numbers similar to those of its predecessor, which has 306 hp and 295 lb-ft (400 Nm) in the U.S.-spec.