Type R lite? Honda unveils manual 2024 Civic RS at Tokyo Auto Salon

At Tokyo Auto Salon 2024, Honda unveiled a sporty-looking RS variant of the Civic hatch with a six-speed manual transmission.

Not unlike the US-market Si, the variant will be known as the RS and is a Japanese exclusive... at least for now. Unlike the Type R, it'll use the regular Civic's 1.5-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder for propulsion.

When asked, Honda's Australian arm said it does "not have any current plans to bring the new Civic RS to the Australian market at this time".

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Details on the new variant remain scarce beyond it keeping the same basic engine paired with a slick six-speed manual transmission, and that the brand has made "further refinements to the joy of driving.".

The US-market Civic Si sedan can guide us slightly. In a perfect world, the RS would be equipped with the same front limited-slip differential, stiffer anti-roll bars, lower springs, firmer dampers, and 18kW power lift (to 149kW) as the North American vehicle.

The RS would then effectively bridge the gap between the regular Civic hatch with its sweet chassis but undergunned engined and the hardcore 235kW mega-hatch that is the Type R.

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However, as with the previous-gen RS, it may be that this variant is a simple styling makeover – think a jazzier cabin treatment with red or orange stitching.

Outside, the concept gets black wheels (not the Type R's 'reverse rim' alloys), a blacked-out grille, an enlarged lower air dam, and red RS badging.

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In North America, the RS's Si equivalent has a fewer interior features meaning it drops under the top-spec Touring sedan – roughly equivalent to our VTi LX ($47,200 drive-away) – so we'd expect the sporty variant to command around $45K locally.

Further details will be confirmed closer to the Japanese Autumn (Australian spring-time) debut of the Civic RS.