2023 Honda Civic Type R: Can PH customers place reservations?

Are you waiting for the all-new Honda Civic Type R?

The new generation Civic Type R was revealed last July 21 and yes, the hot hatch (or fastback?) didn’t disappoint. The Honda Civic has reached legendary levels already and has amassed a very strong following. Being adored by the Civic faithful, Honda says the 2023 Type R will be the most powerful one yet. 

Performance figures have not yet been released, but the sixth generation set a 2-minute 23.120-second lap time on the 5.8-km Suzuki Circuit, beating the previous record set by a limited edition 320 PS Civic Type R by almost a full second.

We know a lot of customers in the Philippines are waiting for the release of the 2023 Honda Civic Type R.

With all the hype surrounding the latest Civic Type R and the “Ber” months just around the corner, we started calling local dealerships asking about the availability and price. And to our surprise, some dealers are actually open to accepting reservations even as early as now. 

That sounds strange, doesn't it? Actually, some dealers won't accept reservations while some would. And they don't even know the price yet, or if the new generation model will actually even come to the Philippines. We did spot that Honda Cars Philippines had applied for approval of a 1996cc engine, and only the Civic Type-R has that exact displacement. 

If Honda does push through, we won't be surprised if it sells out right away. In July 2017, Honda Cars Philippines opened the order books for the FK8, but in less than 48 hours they closed it. Apparently, all 100 incoming units had been reserved. 

Judging by the reception and how quickly the last generation sold out, we won't be surprised if the next one encounters the same situation. But since there's no official word yet if it will actually arrive in the Philippines, putting down a reservation right now looks more like a blind gamble. While the dealers are willing to accept reservations, there's no actual guarantee that the all-new Civic Type R will be arriving in the country.

For now, we're keeping our fingers crossed. We would really like a chance to drive that new Type R when (or if) it gets here.