Home / Motoring / Sports Cars

Honda Is Turning Its Hottest Hatchback into a Rally Car, and It Looks Awesome

The Japanese automaker has unveiled a dirt-going Civic Type R that’s slated to make its debut at this weekend’s United States GP.

Front section of a white Honda race car with orange hood accents, black vents, and white Hoosier tires.Honda
Add Gear Patrol as a Preferred Source on Google
Gray Van Dyke headshot

By Gray Van Dyke

Published

·

As the fastest front-wheel drive car to ever lap Germany’s Nürburgring Nordschleife (in a blistering seven minutes and 44.881 seconds, no less), the Honda Civic Type R is a vehicle that has nothing to prove.

Even still, between a punchy 315-horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, a six-speed manual transmission and some beefy Brembo brakes (not to mention of course, a hatchback roofline), the Type R has all the makings of a proper rally car.

In other words, how could you not look at the up-spec Civic and wonder how it’d perform with a set of all-terrain tires and some plushy suspension?

Front view of a white Honda Civic Type R race car with red accents and "Honda Racing" decal on the windshield.
Meet the Civic Type R HRC Rally XP.
Honda

Thankfully, you don’t have to wait much longer. Honda is turning the Type R into a dirt-slinging rally special, and the full reveal is supposedly set for the next few days.

The Civic Type R hits the dirt

Honda took to its various social media platforms to post the first images of the Civic Type R HRC Rally XP, initially teasing the car through an exciting video edit (along with a sound clip) before dropping the larger set of images you see before you.

White and orange Honda racing car kicking up dirt on a rally track at sunset.
The Civic Type R HRC Rally XP will see Honda’s hottest hatch take on the dirt.
Honda

While the Big Red hasn’t shared all too many details just yet, the photos themselves prove to be pretty revealing — you can glean a lot about the car just by observing the differences compared to the current production Type R.

For instance, even though the massive front bumper intake and towering rear wing remain in place, the hood features improved cooling provisions courtesy of some additional cut-outs. Whether this comes with an increase in power remains to be seen, but it does suggest some tweaks to the engine — especially because of the prominent HRC intercooler.

Inside, the cabin has gotten a dramatic overhaul. Along with a roll cage and a pair of racing seats, Honda has fitted the car with a no-nonsense OMP racing wheel, a new digital instrument panel and some physical inputs for the climate control. 

Race car interior with suede steering wheel, digital dashboard, manual gear shifter, and roll cage.
The cabin gets a dramatic overhaul to equip it for sideways action.
Honda

That’s not all. Enthusiasts will be relieved to know that this rally-ready Type R still sports a manual transmission, and it’s even gained a physical handbrake to replace the electronic unit standard in the production car. Getting sideways is the priority.

Riding on a set of white Speedline rally wheels and wrapped in a red, white and blue HRC livery, it’s sure to be hiding further upgrades to the suspension to ready it for dirt duty. The bigger unknown, though, is the drivetrain. Will it be front-wheel drive or all-wheel?

Okay, but who is it for?

Moreover, what exactly Honda has planned for the Civic Type R HRC Rally XP, unfortunately, only time will tell. 

White and blue Honda rally car with orange accents racing on dirt road, helicopter flying overhead.
Liam Lawson’s name on the window suggests that the Racing Bulls driver will be making some kind of demonstration this weekend.
Honda

On the one hand, the car’s livery features some American Rally Association (ARA) logos, so it’s possible that the automaker may be looking to field the Type R in next season’s national championship. Honda currently has a competitor in an older Civic, so it’s likely due for an update.

However, the livery also features some Rally Ready driving school logos. If not for (or maybe in addition to) ARA competition, it’s possible that Honda will offer or support a new off-road academy with its Civic Type R as a possible course vehicle. 

Then there’s the question of sale. 

Close-up of a black honeycomb car grille with a "Type R" badge featuring silver and red lettering.
Would Honda ever offer this kind of thing to the public? We’ll have to wait and see.
Honda

Hopefully, Honda will — at the very least — market the car as an off-the-shelf option for privateers, as something this hardcore is not fit to be sold to the public.

However, even if the Big Red is not likely to offer the rally-ready Type R as a road-going vehicle, it could at least market select upgrade parts for existing Civic owners.

White and red Honda racing car drifting on a dark asphalt surface with dust cloud behind.
Clad in its red, white and blue livery, the Civic Type R HRC Rally XP certainly looks the business.
Honda

Slated for a COTA unveil

Ultimately, we can only speculate until Honda finally serves up the full details. Luckily, the dirt-going Civic could be here sooner than you think.

It’s slated for an official reveal at the United States Grand Prix this weekend at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in Texas. Given that Racing Bulls F1 driver Liam Lawson’s name adorns the window, he’s likely to be making some form of demonstration.

About the Author: Gray is an associate editor at Gear Patrol, covering cars, motorcycles and anything else with wheels. When he’s not chasing the latest industry news, he’s probably wrenching on one of many projects. For better or worse, he believes classics make perfectly practical daily drivers.

Read More

Want to stay up to date on the latest product news and releases? Add Gear Patrol as a preferred source to ensure our independent journalism makes it to the top of your Google search results.

add as a preferred source on google