Much to everyone’s delight, the all-new Honda Civic Type R was unveiled on the Honda YouTube channel earlier today. Dubbed the FL5 and the “most powerful ever”, this performance model is based on the hatchback variant of the regular Civic. The Type R moniker has always been reserved for the highest-performing vehicles of the brand at the time, with the looks to match. With this much heritage under their belt, it makes sense that the hype is extremely apparent for this one.

We’ll first take a look at the outside. When talking about styling, it is without a doubt that the previous generation’s wild aesthetics were a hit or miss with a lot of people. Some said that the FK8’s rocketship design was a bit too much, while others mentioned expecting nothing less from their weekend boy racer mobiles.

Photo from CarScoops

With this incoming FL5, they’ve come up with a more streamlined approach. Gone are all the protruding angles, especially up front. A small scoop can be seen on the hood, providing necessary cooling for the turbocharged engine we’ll get into later. The rest of the front fascia contains hints of aggression with some black accents that extend onto the sides with its skirts.

At the rear is where the toning down becomes more apparent. The humongous fake vents of yesteryear have been replaced by smaller accent pieces here and there, however, the aggressive rear diffuser and triple-exit exhaust system remain. We’re looking forward to hearing the gnarl from the FL5 since it was a common pain point with the previous-generation Type R.

What’s great to see here is that while there are fewer vents, they are mostly functional. This serves as great aerodynamic support to hold the car down to the road and improve cornering performance and traction substantially. Let’s not forget the rear wing that might earn you a spot on the Top Gun cast – “ready for take off!”

Under the hood, we can expect another turbocharged VTEC engine like what was found in the previous generation. The marketing team has kept quiet on its exact specifications, but at the same time have mentioned that it is the “most powerful Type R ever.” This means that it not only beats out the regular FK8 but the special editions with increased ponies too. We estimate output at around 330-340 HP to the crank, but we’d be glad to be proven wrong.

All this power is delivered straight to the front wheels. It would be a shocker if the new Honda Civic Type R was anything but FWD, but Honda has proven time and time again that its technologies are able to surpass most of the supposed weaknesses of the platform. The FK8 somehow managed to mitigate understeer, carve corners, and shame its AWD contemporaries all at the same time.

The FL5 does not disappoint, breaking the Suzuka Lap Record for FWD cars with a time of 02:23:120. That is on par even with an older Porsche 911 GT3 RS and wiped the floor when it comes to older Type R models, which is also why it’s the “fastest ever.” Yup, that includes the older NSX Type R with its midship layout.

We could rave about its performance all day here, but how about the inside?

As expected with a “hot hatch” such as the all-new Honda Civic Type R, it is a spruced-up version of the base car. There is red literally everywhere you look to keep reminding you that this is a serious, focused weapon.

Type R logos adorn the car’s panels, while a slim aluminum shifter limits this vehicle to those that can still drive stick. Otherwise, you’d still find the amenities and design cues from the original such as the honeycomb ventilation design and practical cupholder placement.

We look forward to the seats as well, since the previous one had ample support and bolstering for the racetrack but remained comfortable for daily use.

Right next to the electronic handbrake is the +R button – ready for when it’s time to leave everything else in the dust. This opens up an entirely new window on the digital dashboard, displaying only essential information such as revs, temperatures, speed, and cornering g-forces. A stopwatch is also present should you want to hit some hot laps on the track.

We are definitely ecstatic to see the all-new FL5 Honda Civic Type R in the flesh. Honda Cars Philippines should be expecting an extremely long line for this model, and we’re grateful to the company for setting the bar higher when it comes to daily drivable performance vehicles such as these.