---
title: "Honda Civic Type R TC: A $90,000 Mega Hatch for Licensed Racing Drivers Only"
description: "This is much more than a tuned street car."
date: "2019-12-12"
modified: "2020-01-27"
authors:
  - name: "James Gilboy"
    job_title: "Contributing Writer"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/james-gilboy"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/31458/honda-civic-type-r-tc-a-90000-mega-hatch-for-licensed-racing-drivers-only"
categories:
  - "Honda News"
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
tags:
  - "Civic"
  - "compact"
  - "Hatchback"
  - "honda"
  - "sports car"
---

# Honda Civic Type R TC: A $90,000 Mega Hatch for Licensed Racing Drivers Only

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2019/12/GBMD4761-source.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

We're not really sure what happened to make companies like Hyundai, Mazda, and [Honda](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/30503/how-honda-is-making-hybrid-cars-lighter-faster-and-normal>) perk up to fill the touring car space with [new, turnkey race cars](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/30130/the-350-hp-mazda3-tcr-race-car-is-the-ultimate-hatchback-money-can-buy>), but more motorsport has never been a bad thing, nor has window-shopping, so we welcome this wealth thereof. Just in time for the holidays, Honda Performance Development's storefront features a new display: the Civic Type R TC.

![message-editor%2F1576186841837-gbmd5673-source.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1576186841837-gbmd5673-source.jpg>)
*Honda Civic Type R TC, *Honda**

The TC bridges the gap between HPD's entry-level, 220-horsepower Civic Si TCA and its 340-horsepower [Civic Type R TCR](<https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/24179/honda-will-sell-you-a-turnkey-civic-type-r-tcr-race-car>), and offers possibly the best value for money in Honda's turnkey touring car range. Its price point is closer to the Si TCA's, but its performance nudges the Type R TCR's with 270-plus horsepower and the capability to soar past 330 as race series permit. It gets its leg up on the road car from a Borla-supplied downpipe and turbo-back exhaust as well as a tunable ECU. It should also stay healthy season-long thanks to upgraded cooling systems.

![message-editor%2F1576187944507-gbmd4937-1200x800.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1576187944507-gbmd4937-1200x800.jpg>)
*Honda Civic Type R TC, *Honda**

Reinforcements have also been applied to the factory six-speed manual transaxle. Now, its third and fourth gears are stronger to handle the rigors of racing, and its differential has been replaced by a Cusco-made limited-slip unit like that found in the Si TCA. The rest of the Type R TC's upgrades are mostly standard motorsport sundries, like upgraded front brakes, a 16-gallon fuel cell, a top-grade roll cage, fire suppression, and OMP driver restraints in the form of a single bucket seat and six-point harness.

![message-editor%2F1576188235544-gbmd4657-1200x800.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1576188235544-gbmd4657-1200x800.jpg>)
*Honda Civic Type R TC, *Honda**

Buying a Type R TC, naturally, isn't as simple as walking into your nearest Honda dealer. Only members of [Honda Racing Line](<https://hpd.honda.com/Racing-Line>) with active Honda motorsport commitments can purchase the car, which costs $89,900 and is nowhere near street-legal. If you can't lay down that kind of cash, then there's always the Civic Si TCA or even better: [cheaper forms of racing that are just as fun](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/28476/the-top-10-wonderfully-horrible-race-cars-of-the-2019-24-hours-of-lemons-b-f-e-gp>).

![message-editor%2F1576188808308-gbmd4866-1200x800.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1576188808308-gbmd4866-1200x800.jpg>)
*Honda Civic Type R TC, *Honda**

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## Author
James is a former staff writer for The Drive. He has changed the conversation around electrification, debunked misinformation online, and become a prominent hunter of what he calls "automotive cryptids."

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/jamesgilboy>)