The prevailing rumour wants that fewer than 550 will be available for purchase in Canada.
Many Honda dealers will not have any to sell.
When the wife and I finally decided to pull the trigger on a new 2021 Honda Civic Type R in July of that year, we knew there was a possibility we might not get one – we were shopping at the very end of the car’s lifecycle. If you’re thinking about buying a new 2023 Honda Civic Type R, depending on where you look, you might already be too late.
2023 Honda Civic Type R | Photo: Olivier Delorme
And this is taking into consideration that new Type Rs have only begun trickling onto dealership lots as these lines are being written. With the press unit, and my personal Type R parked out front, my inquisitive mind needed to get a lay of the Honda store land: Are there waiting lists? How many names? How many cars per dealership? And so on. So, I made a few calls.
Honda Canada Will Have Only 546 New Civic Type R Hot Hatches For Sale
My curiosity was fed by Honda Canada stating that “the car will be very exclusive in Canada, exact numbers are TBD. We recommend consumers contact their local Honda dealer asap for details on availability in their area.”
2023 Honda Civic Type R | Photo: Olivier Delorme
I selected four large Honda dealerships in the greater Montreal area, dialed their numbers, and asked about the new Type R. All four confirmed that they had lists of potential buyers that far or nearly exceeded their expected allocations. One store explained that they hoped to get two units for the 2023 model year, four for 2024, and possibly six in 2025. Another had decreasing figures ranging between four and two per year. All were on the same page when it came to the 2025 model being the last, however. Another realisation is that not all 286 Canadian Honda dealerships will have new Type Rs to sell or will be limited to a single unit over the next three years.
The good news is that two dealers of the surveyed stores had “spots” left on their lists for the 2024 and/or 2025 model years. In my opinion, once all the positive reviews go live, those on the fence will quickly get on the phone.
2023 Honda Civic Type R | Photo: Olivier Delorme
Final piece of trivia: 2,828 FK8 Honda Civic Type R units were delivered new in Canada between the 2017 and 2021 model years. Once more, there might be as few as 550 FL5s available for purchase over the next three years.
And a final thought: buying a well-cared-for FK8 is not settling, at least in my opinion.
