Honda has released a teaser image depicting a red Civic hatch and the promise that the anticipated sportier version of the 10th generation sedan will be making its first appearance at the 2016 Paris Motor Show.
The European-spec car in the teaser subtly suggests that it will sport minor changes to the North American versions that were teased in greater detail a few weeks prior, but we expect there shouldn't be much by way of additional alterations.
In fact, especially so with the newest Civic but applicable to many of its cars of recent memory, Honda has been known to have virtually zero regional changes - offering an identical model for sale internationally.
Some units of the five-door Civic hatch headed for a North American destination were shown uncovered, too, freshly rolling off the assembly line at Honda’s UK manufacturing facility in Swindon, where the Japanese marque is also tasking with producing a large quantity of Civic sedans and Type R models as well as in Antalya, Turkey.
We still have no idea exactly how soon the new European-market hatch will take to make landfall in Australia but the prevailing consensus pegs it toward the middle of 2017, where it will share showroom space with the Thai-built Civic sedan.
The powertrain and cabin technology should mirror that of the 10th-generation sedan to a fault, with either a carryover 1.8-litre naturally aspirated i-VTEC petrol engine or the newer 127kW/220Nm 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder being mated to their Earth Dreams CVT.
Of course, the hatch should be equipped with a sportier suspension setup to match its positioning as a more dynamic variant. But that pales by comparison to the more powerful and more expensive Civic Type R that should be hitting local showrooms in a similar timeframe.
For more on Honda vehicles, including pricing and specifications, check out our Showroom.
