Honda Civic Type R

As of November 2020, Honda had cornered 3.2 per cent of the Australia new-car market for the year, down from 4.1 per cent the year prior. The bulk of these sales went to two SUV models – the larger CR-V and the smaller HR-V – which ranked as the brand's first and second top-selling cars, respectively.

Honda Australia has announced it will hold a lottery to decide which of its customers will get the chance to own a Civic Type R Limited Edition, the “purest expression of Civic Type R to date.” An allocation of just 20 vehicles will hit the local market and, of those, one will remain in Honda’s custody for promotional duties. The remaining 19 vehicles will be offered to the public.

The Honda Civic Type R has set a blistering but unofficial lap record for a road-legal hot hatch at Mount Panorama Bathurst, posting a time of 2 minutes 35.207 in the hands of Formula 1 ace Jenson Button. The 2009 Formula 1 world champion flew into Australia on a secret mission to do the timed run on Easter Monday, while the circuit was closed following the previous day’s six-hour production car race.