You know that wild friend from high school who wasn’t afraid of getting into trouble?
Loved by the friends who understood him, but dismissed by those who thought he wasn’t serious and would go nowhere.
25 years later you meet him again – he’s cut his hair, started working in consulting, met a nice girl and raised a family, running for governor of California – but you can see it’s 100% the same dude.
The Honda Civic Type R is that friend. From the first incarnation in 1997 based on the Civic EK9 it has gone through several changes. It went through its edgy EP3 phase, before going through a chubby FD2 / FN2 period.
The aggression became more focussed and hitting the gym resulted in the FK2. For many, the Type R continued this roid rage aesthetic too far in 2017 when the ‘boy racer’ FK8 appeared. When the 2023 6th Generation Civic Type R was announced, there were few critics. The aero is more subtle, the intakes are recessed and the wheels are smaller and I’ve yet to hear someone call it ugly.
Maybe because in a time where only EV’s make sense we should be grateful for any petrol fuelled development, let alone a new generation of Civic Type R.
But for those of us who grew up with the loud, wild predecessors which are essentially financial investments today, it is nice to know that our toys can develop with us as we get older.
