2023 Honda Civic Type R Horsepower Confirmed!
Honda's feistiest front-driver—well, its feistiest car, period—is getting a whole lot spicier for 2023. We've already seen the latest Honda Civic Type R in all its winged, flared glory. The one thing Honda fans have been waiting for since the 2023 Civic Type R debuted in Los Angeles in July? This hottest of hatches' power output. Just over one month and a leaked internal Honda presentation slide suggesting a solid power gain later, we have the official horsepower and torque figures for the U.S. market.
Power Hour
The 2023 Honda Civic Type R's updated K20C1 turbocharged 2.0-liter I-4 engine will produce 315 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque. That hp figure in particular might seem like a letdown, but it's a solid 9 hp gain and right on par with what we predicted for this market based on the leaked Honda information. Torque is up even bigger time, by 15 lb-ft. The new Type R's 315 hp peaks at the same 6,500 rpm as the old model's 306 hp, while its torque peak lands 100 rpm later, at 2,600 rpm, and only sticks around through 4,000 rpm (compared to 4,500 rpm).
Honda extracted those extra ponies and twists via a new turbocharger with a fresh turbine blade and inlet designs, as well as a new exhaust setup with an active flap for controlling the Civic Type R's volume at higher revs. A larger grille opening and a bigger cooling fan play supporting roles, helping ensure the engine's breathing needs are met while keeping temperatures in check.
A revised six-speed manual transmission and a lighter flywheel back up the K20C1, and Honda fits a more rigid shift lever and tightened up the shift gates, too. We had no complaints about the previous Type R's shift quality, so this sounds like pure gravy. To top it all off, Honda also improved the automated rev-matching function that auto-blips the throttle to smooth out shifts by matching the engine speed to road speed. We're assuming that, as before, this widget can be turned off so that fancy footwork fans can do their own throttle-blipping.
The Competition Lurks...
Provided the Civic Type R's weight is kept in check—i.e, it weighs in within a hundred pounds or so of the last one, despite the new hatchback's larger size—performance from the 2023 Civic Type R should improve. By exactly how much is a detail that will need to wait for our test track results. But, to recap, the old 306-hp Civic Type Rs we tested reached 60 mph in 5.2 seconds to 5.4 seconds.
A proper comparison test with its key competitors also must wait until we actually have a Type R in our possession for a test. In the meantime, we can compare its 315 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque with its immediate competitors. Those are the 2023 Toyota GR Corolla (300 hp, 273 lb-ft, with the Morizo Edition pumping out 295 lb-ft); the 2022 Hyundai Elantra N (276 hp, 289 lb-ft); and the 2022 Volkswagen Golf R (315 hp, 295 lb-ft). Yes, factoring in torque, this means the Civic Type R is now not only the most powerful Honda available, but also tops among its competitive set.
You may also like
With Acura's NSX supercar being sunsetted this year after the final run of Type S variants is built, the Performance Manufacturing Center (PMC) where it is assembled by hand is going to need purpose. Well, a different purpose, at least—and Acura's been trying to give it some over the past few years with its normal-looking-on-the-outside, secretly hand-built batches of PMC Editions of its mainstream models. These mostly ordinary Acura models are usually gifted some special paint—a lustrous red on the 2020 TLX PMC Edition, a blazing orange on the 2021 RDX PMC Edition, etc.—and carry the distinction of being hand-built in the same factory as the NSX supercar, by the same technicians, even. The newest addition to this PMC family? The latest-generation TLX sedan.As mentioned, there has been a TLX PMC Edition previously, but that was based on the previous-generation TLX. This 2023 Acura TLX PMC Edition blends not only the newest TLX with the PMC treatment, but also the TLX in its spicier 355-hp Type S form, which also gets Acura's torque-vectoring Super Handling All-Wheel Drive. This sport sedan with a name of many characters will, ironically, be limited in number, though Acura hasn't outlined yet what that number will be. (Past PMCs were built in numbered runs, with each model wearing a plaque inside with its unique figure; there is a similar plaque pictured on the new '23 TLX, but it only shows "001," not how many that number is out of.) It is, of course, built by hand at Acura's PMC in Ohio, and for an added dash of fancy, each car will be delivered in a covered, single-car transporter to its delivery dealership in order to keep the paint free from blemishes.In no small part because this TLX PMC Edition is based on the already saucy looking Type S version of Acura's midsize sedan, it is an altogether more serious-looking machine than the old one. Acura steps up the visuals with copper-colored 21-inch wheels, carbon-fiber rear spoiler and diffuser pieces, and Berlina Black (a classic Honda color) roof and door mirrors. Three colors will be available, and (go, America!), they're Curva Red (with a black interior), 130R White (red interior), and Long Beach Blue (with a white interior)—perfectly timed for a certain celebratory weekend in the U.S.A. All three colors are borrowed from the NSX, too.Other enhancements on the PMC include Pirelli P-Zero summer tires, carbon fiber interior trim, backlit "Type S" door sill plates, and blacked-out badges. The result is a TLX Type S that is subtly different, but in a hard-to-place way if you just saw one on the street.Of course, the delicious, even subtler aspect of these PMC cars has long been their hand assembly, which is just plain unusual for cars not priced in the stratosphere. Like with past PMC Editions, we anticipate the TLX Type S version won't break the bank, costing a few thousand bucks more than a regular one. Again, imagine someone paying just a little more for, say, a hand-built Ford F-150 or Honda Civic. It's both weird and kind of, secretly, maybe cool. We'll know final pricing and, likely, how limited production will be when the order books open for the TLX Type S PMC Edition later this year.
You've seen Volkswagen's ID Buzz electric van, the new-age microbus, haven't you? If not, what are you waiting for? The automaker's iconic bus is back, first as a two-row compact-ish van with a boxy profile and simple, retro-futuristic interior, and later in all likelihood as a three-row, slightly larger variation. Having just debuted for global markets, the ID Buzz is headed to the U.S. sometime next year—which gives VW and longtime brand affiliates time to make a few classic microbus and Vanagon variations happen. We're talking Dokas (the DoppelKabine crew-cab pickups based on T1s and Vanagons), Porsche racing support vans, Westfalia campers, and more. To get you as excited as we are based on nothing but wild speculation, we've whipped up these illustrations of the ID Buzz models we hope to see soon:
Wow, the claims Nanotech Energy makes for its new graphene battery, just presented at CES Unveiled, are impressive: It retains more than 80 percent of its rated capacity through 1,400 cycles, can charge "18 times faster than anything that is currently available on the market," maintains performance at extreme temperatures (-40 to 140 degrees F), holds charge at temperatures as high as 350 degrees and won't catch fire when penetrated with a nail or heated to more than 1,300 degrees, don't require exotic materials, can be manufactured on existing equipment in various form factors (cylindrical, pouch, etc. ), and is going to be produced in a new plant in Nevada slated to open in the fourth quarter of 2022.Given all that, we wouldn't be surprised to learn that driving an EV powered by such batteries also promoted weight loss and prevented tax audits. Here's what we know about the Nanotech Energy graphene battery.Graphene Battery ElectrodesGraphene has been making a lot of news lately, and we explained what it is here, but here's a quickie recap: the graphene in use here is a sheet of one-atom-thick carbon. Nanotech Energy is using graphene sheets to transfer energy to and from its new batteries. Graphene is extremely strong yet pliable, which makes it capable of stretching as the lithium ions come and go from the electrodes, causing volume changes. Graphene's strong electrical conductivity lowers the battery's internal resistance, which lowers internal heat generation, enabling faster charging.OrganoLyte ElectrolyteNanotech Energy has yet to release exact chemical specifications of its proprietary liquid electrolyte, but it has provided MotorTrend with some general information. Most electrolytes in use today involve dissolving a lithium salt in a liquid material composed primarily of linear and cyclic chain carbonates (molecules that involve a carbon atom attached to three oxygen atoms). These liquids are typically flammable (see the photo below). OrganoLyte reportedly is not, if photos (at top) of a propane torch applied to the material are to be believed.While no specifics have been confirmed, the name suggests the material still centers around organic chemistry (meaning its molecules involve carbon atoms and covalent bonding, not ecological farming), and we're assured they're not exotic or expensive.New Proprietary SeparatorThe graphene battery electrodes must be separated by a material through which the ions transfer, and here again Nanotech Energy has replaced the typical polyolefin separator with a new material that improves on polyolefin's thermal stability. This also helps to make the batteries safer.Easy to ManufactureCurrent manufacturing equipment and processes currently in use to make lithium-ion pouch and cylinder batteries can produce Nanotech Energy's graphene battery, and a factory designed to build them is currently slated to open in late 2022.When Can I Buy a Graphene Battery?Perhaps as early as next year, but we expect initial production to concentrate on the consumer electronics market. That's because it's extremely unlikely that sufficient durability, reliability and safety testing on all these new materials when applied toward an automotive use case can be completed in less than a few years.
0 Comments