New Civic Type R Didn’t Get An Auto Box For One Simple Reason - Weight

While we strongly suspect this is the one thing that Type R fans will never ever complain about, Honda has revealed the reason why they couldn’t give the all-new 2017 model an automatic gearbox option. The answer? It would have added too much weight.

Yuju Matsumochi, who is the assistant large project leader for the Civic powertrain at Honda Japan, confirmed to Car Advice it was simply too big of a challenge to deal with the extra weight that an automatic gearbox would add to the car.

“The Type R needs a lightweight powertrain because it is front-wheel drive, and needs lightweight powertrain systems,” Matsumochi stated, adding, “So, the engine is a little bit heavy, so the transmission side needs to be more lightweight.”

The 2017 Civic Type R already has a slight weight distribution imbalance with 62.5 percent of its weight sitting over the front axle, so adding a heavier auto ‘box would have obviously made this a bigger issue in terms of handling.

All of this is just fine by us, as the new model remains one of the few hold-outs in the current crop of uber hot hatches to give drivers no option but to get fully involved in the action with a manual gearbox.

By Ben Hodges