Honda has unveiled the 2023 Honda Civic Type R Pace Car which will lead the NTT IndyCar Series field to the green flag for the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on the Florida Gulf Coast.
The latest in a series of Honda Pace Cars utilised for Indy car competition since 2006, the new Civic Type R Pace Car said to be the most powerful model in the Type R's 30-year history, and benefits from additional improvements made to the production Honda Civic Type R for 2023, including an all new immersive cockpit experience and a sleek, muscular new design.
The Honda Civic Type R has a redesigned turbocharger and a more efficient exhaust system, allowing it to develop a total of 311bhp Under the bonnet, the pace car gets Honda's K20C1 engine, but is equipped with a redesigned turbocharger and a more efficient exhaust system that features a straight through design and an active exhaust valve.
These changes allow the engine to produce a total of 311bhp and 420Nm of torque.
The six-speed manual transmission of the Civic Type R has also been upgraded with a lighter flywheel and a revised rev-match system, for greater stability on corner entry.
It also has a new high-rigidity lever and an optimised shift gate pattern for more precise gear changes. A standard helical-type limited-slip differential will also the engine's power to the pavement effectively.
And to further aid the car when tackling the corners, the pace car also gets wider front and rear tracks, a more rigid body, and has had its dual-axis strut front and multilink rear suspension retuned. All these changes will deliver greater straight-line stability and raise steering feel.
The pace car also gets a Honda Performance Development brake package, including competition rotors, racing pads and stainless steel brake lines, and four-point racing harnesses. An exclusive pace car lighting system and Honda graphics caps complete the conversion from showroom Civic Type R to an NTT IndyCar Series pace car.
The latest in a series of Honda Pace Cars utilised for Indy car competition since 2006, the new Civic Type R Pace Car said to be the most powerful model in the Type R's 30-year history, and benefits from additional improvements made to the production Honda Civic Type R for 2023, including an all new immersive cockpit experience and a sleek, muscular new design.
These changes allow the engine to produce a total of 311bhp and 420Nm of torque.
The six-speed manual transmission of the Civic Type R has also been upgraded with a lighter flywheel and a revised rev-match system, for greater stability on corner entry.
It also has a new high-rigidity lever and an optimised shift gate pattern for more precise gear changes. A standard helical-type limited-slip differential will also the engine's power to the pavement effectively.
And to further aid the car when tackling the corners, the pace car also gets wider front and rear tracks, a more rigid body, and has had its dual-axis strut front and multilink rear suspension retuned. All these changes will deliver greater straight-line stability and raise steering feel.
The pace car also gets a Honda Performance Development brake package, including competition rotors, racing pads and stainless steel brake lines, and four-point racing harnesses. An exclusive pace car lighting system and Honda graphics caps complete the conversion from showroom Civic Type R to an NTT IndyCar Series pace car.
