There are few road cars with a richer motorsport history than Honda’s legendary Civic Type R. Once an innocent grocery-getter, the hot hatch is now known for its incredible driving dynamics. 

With each iteration, Honda has somehow only improved these dynamics, a sentiment that especially rings true for the current FL5 generation. 

Not content with this Civic Type R’s performance, a Japanese tuning company by the name of ARTA has gone above and beyond with it, creating what it calls the ARTA GT. 

For context, ARTA stands for Autobacs Racing Team Aguri, and has a motorsport history with Honda dating back to 1998. It also fields two new Preludes in Japan’s Super GT series.

Unveiled at Tokyo Auto Salon 2026, this ARTA GT ups the ante in almost every way possible with the FL5. 

Though no power or torque figures have been provided, ARTA has given the 2.0-litre turbocharged four-banger a plethora of upgrades. 

These include an HKS ECU, turbo internals kit, oil cooler kit, intercooler kit, and a new exhaust to free up the engine’s breathing. 

A six-speed manual transmission still sends power exclusively to the front wheels, but a Cusco type-RS mechanical LSD helps to keep traction. 

Speaking of traction, this Civic now wears Bridgestone Potenza RE-71RZ tyres at each corner, replacing the standard Michelin rubber. 

As for stopping power, it gets AP Racing PRO 5000R brakes, and KW 2-way dampers handle the ride. 

On the aesthetic front, ARTA’s goal was to get the Civic Type R to look as close to the Civic Type R Super GT 500 as possible. 

This included adding a new front bumper, new wider guards, a new bonnet, a new rear bumper and diffuser, plus a massive rear wing. 

The additions to the interior are just as wild, with Recaro race seats replacing the standard buckets, and a carbon fibre racing wheel. 

ARTA plans to build just 20 of these GT kits, which will be sold separately to the Civic Type R donor car. 

Adding the cost of the kit to a Civic Type R puts the total well over $200,000 in Kiwi dollars, making it more expensive than a Porsche Cayman.