Honda Civic Type R-GT in the works for 2024 SUPER GT

The 2024 SUPER GT season will welcome a new entry from Honda in the form of its new GT500 Honda Civic Type R-GT Concept race car. 

This race-ready hatchback will replace the existing Honda NST-GT Type S as the brand’s offering in Japan's premier sports car racing category. 

The Type R racecar was unveiled at the 2023 Tokyo Auto Salon with Honda Racing Corporation president Koji Watanabe present to give out the announcement. It also won the Tokyo International Custom Car Contest 2023 Concept Car Category at TAS.

Looking the part of a racecar

The Honda Civic Type R- GT Concept racecar is painted in red, navy, blue, and white, the corporate colors of the brand’s racing division.

The Civic Type R was the chosen vehicle as the brand was keen on using it to boost its branding for its entire lineup of cars. It has also taken over the performance portfolio of Honda cars as the NSX ceased commercial production at the end of 2022.

According to Honda Racing Corporation President Koji Watanabe, the Type R name stands for Honda's racing heritage. “We have decided to enter the SUPER GT GT500 class with a car that carries the Type R name of our pure sports models that symbolize Honda’s commitment to building cars with speed comparable to a race car and uncompromising driving pleasure,” says Watanabe.

What’s underneath?

Even though the regular Civic Type R is a front-wheel drive performance car, its GT500 namesake will not retain that drivetrain layout.

Instead, the GT500 will have the silhouette of a Civic Type R built over a front engine rear, wheel drive configuration with the engine and transmission taken from the NSX-GT car from 2020 as per race regulations. 

Setting a trend

With the GT500 coming in with a new set of rules for 2024, Honda could be the only manufacturer to bring in a brand-new vehicle for the racing series aside from Nissan and possibly even Toyota. 

A history with the GT500

The GT500 racing series has been a popular event for the Japanese automaker as it has completed various versions of the NSX since 2014 in the Type S configuration. 

The Type S iteration of the NSX-GT will get one more season out of it for 2023 before it is retired for the new Civic Type R racecar. 

Honda last won the SUPER GT title with its front-engine NSX-GT 2020 and came close to winning it again in 2021 when a race incident forced them to retire. 

Honda has big plans ready for the GT500 series; the question now is, will they be able to bag the title again?