The FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCC) is no more, having spearheaded touring car racing from 2018 through 2022. Nevertheless TCR remains strong globally across many national level series. The most successful car of the WTCC was the Honda Civic Type R TCR/ FK8. Recently Honda announced a new for 2023 replacement of this based on the latest FL5 version production car.

Introduced in 2014, TCR cars are front wheel drive, four or five door, 1.75 to 2.0 litre turbo petrol or diesel engined road cars. The base vehicle must be produced at the rate of at least 5000 units per annum and the racecar, with upgraded brakes and aero, is FIA homologated. The engine has to be wet sump and equipped with a catalytic converter. It is air restricted to a maximum of 345 bhp and 420 Nm torque. A Balance of Performance is applied based primarily on car weight.

The Civic TCR contender is developed by JAS Motorsport, the Italian race engineering company that since 1998 has been Honda’s official touring car partner in Europe. JAS Motorsport has developed Civic TCR racecars since 2014, embracing FK2, FK8 and now FL5 base models.

The Civic Type R TCR uses the Honda K20C1 engine. This is a 16-valve I4 turbo with its twin overhead camshafts operating through roller followers. Engine control is fully electronic with distributorless ignition and direct injection. The all-aluminium engine has bore of 86 mm and stroke of 85.9 mm for 1996 cc. Honda says that the 2023 TCR engine is a “race-refined” version of the current production engine.

The 2023 Civic Type R TCR has an all-new aerodynamic package, a new chassis and upgraded braking and transmission systems. Honda reports that an 'endurance' version will also be available for customers planning to contest long-distance events such as the Nurburgring 24 Hours.

The 2023 car made its debut at the Circuit Tazio Nuvolari in Italy on December 5 2022. Since then it has been undergoing a development programme ahead of delivery of the first examples to customers, due April 2023.