This is how the 2023 Honda Civic Type R will be built
Production of the 2023 Honda Civic Type R has begun in Japan. In this video, we sneak into Honda's Yorii plant to see how the latest Type R is manufactured. Please note that there is no narration.
The video shows the entire assembly process in just eight and a half minutes, starting with the body shop where sheet metal is pressed into body panels. These parts are then welded and glued together to form the bodyshell, to which the hood, doors, and hatches are attached. The completed bodyshell is then painted.
All of the work up to this point is highly automated, and most of the work done by the robots is checked by humans. Other operations are more manual. Workers manually insert the grille into the front bumper and bolt the K20C1 2.0-liter turbo 4 engine to the transaxle. Final assembly will take place in Japan, but the Type R's engine will be supplied by Honda's Anna Engine plant in Sidney, Ohio.
The engine produces 315 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque, making the 2023 Civic Type R the most powerful Honda-badged car ever sold in the United States. Power is transferred to the front wheels via an improved six-speed manual transmission with a rev-matching system similar to that found in the 2022 Civic Si.
Assembly continues with the installation of the engine, suspension components, and brakes, which are mounted on the car as part of the front and rear subassemblies. The video clearly shows the Brembo front brake calipers clamping the two-piece front rotors, and the front strut suspension and multi-link rear suspension can also be seen. Both ends have been retuned to match the longer and wider platform of the 11th generation Civic on which the new Type R is based.
Seats and other interior components follow. Each completed vehicle leaves the factory after passing through a quality control station that includes a dyno test. Some of these cars should be arriving at dealers in the U.S. shortly.