Honda Civic Type R leaked ahead of Geneva debut

The Honda Civic Type R is one of the most highly anticipated cars at this year’s Geneva Motor Show but ahead of its global debut, images of what appears to be hot hatch have made their way to the internet.

If you loved the Civic Type R Prototype that Honda showed you during last year’s Paris Motor Show, good news! The car seen in both images appear nearly identical to that concept, from the aggressive aero features right down to the triple-pipe exhaust setup.

The only difference as far as we can see is the customary white paint job synonymous with Honda Type R models, a stainless steel exhaust instead of the red-accented one on the concept, and the sighting of some red bucket seats inside.

Under the hood, Honda has already confirmed that a 2.0 litre VTEC Turbo petrol engine will power the new Civic Type R, paired with a proper six-speed manual as it should be. No word on power but it’s been said the drivetrain is “engineered to deliver the most rewarding drive in the hot hatch segment” but did not reveal much in the way of the car’s performance.”

Additionally, production of the Civic Type R will kick off in summer 2017 at Honda of the UK Manufacturing (HUM) facility in Swindon, which is where the previous FK2 Civic Type R was made.

Is this the real thing or is it the work of a rendering wizard? We’ll uncover the truth when the car is officially unveiled in Geneva really, really soon. For now, do you like what you see?

GALLERY: Honda Civic Type R Prototype

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