At the Tokyo Auto Salon, Honda Motor Company and Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) premiered the Civic Type R-GT Concept race car.
The Civic Type R-GT Concept will be Honda’s challenger in the GT500 class of the Autobacs SUPER GT Series, beginning in the 2024 season.
This new car, based on the newest fifth-generation Civic Type R (FL5), is the first GT500 car to be based upon a four-door sedan model, as well as the first to be based upon a front-wheel drive production vehicle.
However, the GT500 class Civic Type R-GT Concept will be a rear-wheel drive silhouette car built to the latest technical regulations of what will be the fastest category of sports car racing in the world.
HRC President, Koji Watanabe, said during the car’s premiere: “We have decided to enter the SUPER GT GT500 class with a car that carries the Type R name of our pure sports models that symbolize Honda’s commitment to building cars with speed comparable to a race car and uncompromising driving pleasure.”
“Although this model is still in the development stage and can mostly show the direction the design will pursue, we want to give the Tokyo Auto Salon visitors and fans far and wide (going forward) opportunities to see it with their own eyes.”
It means that the 2023 season will be the last for the Honda NSX as the company’s flagship GT500 car. The iconic NSX has represented Honda in SUPER GT from 1996 to 2009, and again from 2014 through this season. The one-off HSV-010 GT Concept competed in the intermediate years from 2010-13.
“This will be the final year that we compete with the NSX. And in order to bring its record to a triumphant finish, we will make winning this year’s title an absolute goal that the entire Honda camp will be working together as one to achieve,” Watanabe continued. “We ask that everyone continues to cheer us on this season.”
Images © Honda
