Honda Australia has secured more stock of the in-demand Civic Type R, but customers will need to pay more than ever to get behind the wheel of the hot hatch icon.
Supply of the Civic Type R has been limited since the FL5-generation model first arrived in Australia, which has resulted in ebbs and flows of stock levels, leading to prospective buyers signing up to waitlists.
The latest batch of Civic Type Rs has now arrived, but its price has jumped up to $85,500 drive-away, a huge $12,900 increase on when it launched in Australia back in 2023, and a $5510 jump over its most recent hike in August last year.
The only update to the most recent Honda Civic Type Rs is the standard fitment of a more aggressive carbon-fibre rear wing, which arrived last year as a $5300 option.
Honda hasn’t disclosed how many examples of the Civic Type R have landed in Australia in the most recent shipment, though its website states: “Due to overwhelming demand, all current stock has been exhausted”.
Apart from the bigger rear wing now coming as standard, the Honda Civic Type R is otherwise unchanged, with its turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine continuing to produce 235kW and 420Nm, making it the most powerful front-wheel drive car on sale in Australia.
Unlike many of its rivals, it’s exclusively sold with a six-speed manual transmission, with no automatic offered.
Last year Honda added a new Racing Blue paint finish to the lineup at the expense of Rally Red. Championship White, Crystal Black and Sonic Grey remain available as no-cost options.
Questions remain around the future of the FL5 Civic Type R after it was axed from Europe and the UK in June, due to new emissions regulations. It was farewelled there with a limited-run ‘Ultimate Edition’, not coming to Australia.
Last month, Honda’s US division announced the “Civic Type R will receive updates this year, including exterior and interior styling changes” later this year, though did not include any photos or teasers of the changes.
Previous generations of Civic Type Rs have typically lasted anywhere from two to seven years on sale, though they’ve traditionally only received minor tweaks if any through their production run.
While the US press release hints at a mid-life update for the FL5 Civic Type R, Honda has also made no secret about its development of performance parts for the hot model, showing off a HRC (Honda Performance Corporation) version of it at the recent Tokyo Auto Salon.
The end of the Civic Type R as we know it may also be closer than we think, after Honda engineer Tomoyuki Yamagami told UK publication Auto Express in July last year that the Type R doesn’t need an engine.
“Type R can be anything in future, depending on what the market demands. Type R is not dependent on a turbo powertrain,” Yamagami told the outlet.
“[The] Type R badge is about the ability to enhance dynamic attributes to the max.”
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