2015 Honda Civic Type-R Could Form the Foundation for a New Honda CR-Z

We got our first peek at the next-generation 2015 Honda Civic Type-R at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show, and what a peek it was!  While we didn’t get to see much of the three-door hot hatch’s aesthetic, we did get to see it blazing around the Nürburgring circuit. In case you missed it, take a look at the I-don’t-want-to-admit-it-but-this-is-awesome video below:

Apparently, Honda asked WTCC racing legend Gabriele Tarquini to put their Type-R development model through the wringer on Germany’s most infamous track. As you can see (and hear), he clearly did his job well. You can hear every one of those 276 horses, can’t you?

Impressively enough, Tarquini was able to take the Civic Type-R for a lap in a less than 8 minutes, which is a better performance than the current lap record holder – the Renault Megane RS Trophy. By the time the Civic Type-R actually makes it to production, Honda wants their hot hatch to have the fastest lap time of any front-wheel drive car.

Now, this is all well and good and everything, but it’s actually not the most interesting development regarding Honda’s next-gen Civic Type-R. Nope, what’s even more exciting is that Honda has plans to use their new Civic Type-R as the foundation for the next generation Honda CR-Z coupe.

This is especially exciting for our U.S.-based readers because it’s very unlikely that the Honda Civic Type-R will ever make it to American shores, at least if past Type-R’s are any indication.  This is because the U.S. has been trained to see current and past Civics as more of an economical car than a performance car. Same thing for hatchbacks in general, actually; the U.S. doesn’t demonstrate the same obsession with hatchbacks (yet) that we’ve seen in international markets, particularly Europe. A sports coupe, on the other hand, would be universally appealing and virtually guaranteed to see production in the U.S.

Keep in mind, this is just a rumor right now.  Our primary source of information is an Australian auto blog (CarSales.com.au) which states that, “Indications from a source close to Honda point in that direction [of a CR-Z].”  Nonetheless, it seems likely .  Honda reports being extremely impressed by the performance of the jointly developed Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ (as have we all), and now they want a piece of the pie.  According to CarSales’ insider, “The raw driving experience, good power, sporty look, low price and sizable global sales figures sent a shock wave through Honda’s R&D section.”

It will certainly be interesting to see what Honda ends up doing with their new CR-Z Type-R, which is supposedly coming in 2015.  For one thing, the Civic Type-R hatchback will be an upmarket vehicle, while Honda needs to keep the CR-Z coupe below $40K to have a shot at competing with the Scion FR-S in the U.S. Unfortunately, we really don’t know anything more at this point, but we’ll keep you updated as soon as we learn more .  Until then, thanks for reading!