Honda Shows Off Sporty New Civic RS Prototype Hot Hatch

Showcased at TAS 2024 was the Honda Civic RS prototype hot hatch. Reports indicate it will enter production and go on sale in Japan later this year.

Honda’s showcase at this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon 2024 (TAS 2024) was exciting indeed. However, the mighty H-marque took things up a notch when it quietly showed off a prototype of the Honda Civic RS hatchback at said show as well.

Based on the current eleventh generation (chassis code: FL) Civic hatchback model, the prototype will reportedly spawn a production version that’s set to go on sale in Japan later this year and slot below the manic FL5 Type R variant.

Unlike the regular eleventh-gen (FL) Civic hatch, the RS sports subtle sporty touches plus distinctively different bumpers, along with sporty 18-inch alloy wheels.

Setting itself apart from the regular hatch are sporty touches that include red-treated RS badges, dual-exhaust tips, as well as distinctively different front and rear bumpers plus a subtle aerokit. It also rolls on sporty black-finished 18-inch alloy wheels.

Stealthy aggression aside, the Civic RS prototype shown at TAS 2024 also boasts a 6-speed manual transmission. This is a feature not offered in non-Type R iterations of the tenth and eleventh-gen Civic model sold outside of Japan and North America.

Honda kept mum about the Civic RS prototype's powerplant, but sources believe it's similar to the US-market Civic Si model, which adopts a 1.5-litre 4-cyl turbo with 200 HP and 206 NM.

Honda kept mum about this prototype’s powerplant, but sources online believe it to be a turbocharged 1.5-litre 4-cyl petrol mill that’s similar to what’s fielded in the US-market Civic Si model. For reference, said US-market offering’s mill boasts 200 HP and 260 NM outputs.

Honda did instead promise the Civic RS will feature a chassis endowed with “further refinements to the joy of driving.” This statement likely suggests that the production-bound version will boast a revised chassis tweaked to deliver a more engaging driving experience.

Instead, Honda did promise an enhanced chassis with "further refinements to the joy of driving."

More details are expected closer to the model’s impending launch in Honda’s Japanese home market later this year. Plans for overseas sales weren’t confirmed and seems unlikely, but we won’t discount the possibility of seeing it flogged by grey/parallel (recond) importers later.

Are you digging this watered down but stylishly stealthier twin to the FL5 Honda Civic Type R that launched locally late last year? What sort of price figures would expect it to command? As usual, share your take on things in the comments below, and our social media pages…