New Honda Civic Type-R approved

Those of you lucky enough to have had the Honda Civic Type R will get another one: Autocar reports that Honda has approved the next-generation of its much-lusted-after hot hatch and will make an announcement at the Paris Motor Show. The return of the Type R was speculated on last year in an Auto Express story, but this news puts Honda's imprimatur on the Type R's arrival. After the purported Paris announcement, the timeline is for a Geneva Motor Show reveal and an on-sale date in about a year from now.

If the report is to be believed, the next CTR will not have the naturally aspirated K20 VTEC engine pointing the way – that motor's lack of compliance with Euro emissions regulations being the reason the Civic Type R was discontinued. The Auto Express report predicts a 210-horsepower, 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder developed by Mugen – that would be up 12 horsepower from the 2010 model, but down 46 horses on the limited edition Type R tuned by Mugen that was "a tribute to the Honda K20" engine and part of the last model's run. It's said the 2013 will feature a stop/start system and a six-speed manual.

We'll be on the lookout for official news in Paris, and as with previous Type R models and the five-door bodystyle seen above, we don't expect this car to come to the U.S.