Electric switch unavoidable for next Honda Type Rs

Honda has assured fans of its iconic Type R models that an eventual switch towards electrification won’t the see moniker being shelved for good.

It will have to happen

An announcement similar to Volkswagen’s confirmation R division will be going electric before 2030, the Japanese automaker’s Lead Engineer for the Type R brand, Hideki Kakinuma, bluntly told Britain’s Autocar, “without Type R, there is no Honda”.

“Honda strongly believes that driving pleasure is the core essence of private mobility, personal mobility. [Yes], carbon neutrality and emissions regulations that are very stringent, but for Honda, they are only new hurdles, new challenges to provide our customers the joy of driving.”

Quizzed by the publication on the side-lines of the new Civic Type R’s recent launch, Kakinuma admitted that while Honda could easily retain the Type R solely with an internal combustion engine for the next year, “given the current circumstances, this is very unlikely”.

During development of the new Civic Type R, it was reported that both electrification and four-wheel-drive would feature, along with the option of an automatic gearbox no previous iteration had ever been equipped with.

ALSO READ: Honda makes public new Civic Type R’s power and torque figures

As it turned-off, the internally designated FL5 Type R is exclusively powered by a conventional 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine that pumps-out 235kW/420Nm delivered to the front wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox only.

According to Kakinuma, the looming Euro 7 emissions regulations could well lead to Honda being forced to electrify future Type R models should it plan on offering it in the Old Continent, admitting that a zero percent chance prevails of such a development not happening.

Fun and engagement will continue

He, however, added, “The Type R itself does not depend on the powertrain. It’s a certain philosophy, a principle of the joy of driving, and that involves a lot of aspects… If this excitement can be provided with a certain powertrain that is carbon neutral or somewhat electrified, or a completely different technology, this will also be justifiably a Type R”.

Honda South Africa has confirmed that the Civic Type R will be available from next year in a move that will take the current Civic line-up two model above the RS that carries a price tag of R669 900.

While still only speculation, chances are that the new Civic Type R could potentially be priced around the R750 000 when it goes on-sale, which should still make it cheaper or around the same price as the new Volkswagen Golf R that remains unstickered.