---
title: "Honda Civic Type R Prototype Debuts in Paris"
description: "Don’t expect the production model to look all that different."
date: "2016-09-29"
modified: "2016-09-29"
authors:
  - name: "Will Sabel Courtney"
    job_title: "Contributor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/will-sabel-courtney"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/5374/honda-civic-type-r-prototype-debuts-in-paris"
categories:
  - "Honda News"
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
tags:
  - "Civic"
  - "compact"
  - "Hatchback"
  - "honda"
  - "Paris Motor Show"
  - "sports car"
  - "Type R"
---

# Honda Civic Type R Prototype Debuts in Paris

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/archive-images/honda-civic-type-r-prototype-paris-the-drive-hero.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

See that fifth word in the name of the [new Honda Civic Type R Prototype](<https://autoweek.com/article/car-news/honda-shows-super-aggressive-2018-civic-type-r-prototype-paris-motor-show>)? Prototype. Not “concept,” the word carmakers usually use to describe auto show vehicles designed to preview future models. “Prototype,” as in, “a test car built to resemble the real thing as closely as possible.”

Which is to say, [the Civic Type R Prototype revealed at the Paris Motor Show](<https://hondanews.com/releases/radical-new-honda-civic-type-r-prototype-debuts-in-paris-making-its-north-american-debut-at-the-2016-sema-show-in-las-vegas>) is all but certainly the spitting image of the production version Honda says will make its way to North American shores in 2017.

![honda civic type r prototype paris the drive](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/honda-civic-type-r-prototype-paris-the-drive-inline-1.jpg>)
**Honda**

Based off [the five-door Civic Hatchback platform arriving in U.S. showrooms](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/4853/a-first-look-at-the-2017-honda-civic-hatchback>) any day now, the new Type R comes equipped with an arsenal of aerodynamic hardware and stylistic badassery not found on more plebeian Hondas. There’s a massive rear wing that look like Voltron’s paraglider, mounted high above a trio of exhaust pipes and an aggro rear fascia. The 20-inch black-and-red wheels sit beneath beefy fender flares, while up front, the traditional red Honda badge reserved for the carmaker’s R models sits between the slotted hood and the angry front fascia with its carbon-fiber splitter. A red accent line stretches around the car’s waterline, while the body comes clad in a brushed aluminum-like finish that Honda says won’t make it to the production car.

![honda civic type r prototype paris the drive](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/honda-civic-type-r-prototype-paris-the-drive-inline-3.jpg>)
**Honda**

But all those visual details matter less than the heart of the Civic Type R, which lies beneath that broad hood. Honda’s official press release was mum on the subject of the car’s powertrain, but according to *Autocar*, [Honda aims to crank at least 300 horsepower out of its turbocharged four-cylinder](<https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/motor-shows-paris-motor-show/next-honda-civic-type-r-target-front-wheel-drive-ring-record>) engine—and [we've heard it could make as many as 340 ponies](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/4720/next-honda-civic-type-r-might-pack-340-hp>).

![honda civic type r prototype paris the drive](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/honda-civic-type-r-prototype-paris-the-drive-inline-2.jpg>)
**Honda**

The car will need every pony it can channel to its front tires, as *Autocar* also claims that Honda wants to use the new Type R to set a new front-wheel-drive Nurburgring Nordschleife lap record. The previous Civic Type R’s time of 7:50 held that honor for almost two years, until [the VW Golf GTI Clubsport S knocked it off this spring](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/3328/the-volkswagen-gti-r-clubsport-s-just-set-a-n-rburgring-record>); if the new red-badged Civic’s powertrain can match its style, we don’t doubt it can save the brand’s honor at the ‘Ring.

![honda civic type r prototype paris the drive](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/honda-civic-type-r-prototype-paris-the-drive-inline-4.jpg>)
**Honda**

![honda civic type r prototype paris the drive](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/honda-civic-type-r-prototype-paris-the-drive-inline-5.jpg>)
**Honda**

## Author
Will is the former managing editor of *RIDES Magazine* and the former online editor for *0-60 Magazine*. He has worked for *Time Out New York* and *Rolling Stone*, and was the creator of *College Cars Online*, the first automotive blog specifically targeted at college students and young professionals.

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/willsabelcourtney>)  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/willscourtney>)