Honda’s Type-Trail Trademark Has Us Imagining A Civic Type R-Powered Passport

Honda has trademarked the name ‘Type-Trail’, and the enthusiast in us couldn’t be happier about the implications. The filing, discovered by CarMoses, gives us the obvious reading of a hotter Passport TrailSport, but nothing is confirmed, with precious little in the way of details in the trademark filing, meaning that this take is deduction and a little wishful thinking. There is precedent, though. Honda trademarked the TrailSport name in 2020, and the first Passport TrailSport showed up for the 2022 model year. A filing, in other words, is a long fuse. Considering the TrailSport now accounts for over 80 percent of Passport sales, we can see why Honda would light that fuse. 

Could A Type R Engine Survive The Dirt?

The only Type R sold in America is the Civic, priced from around $48,000, which sits a few thousand dollars from a Passport TrailSport. It’s also why it makes sense that Civic Type R owners with growing families end up cross-shopping the TrailSport. A hotter Type-Trail would be a neat way to keep those buyers/owners within the fold. Best of both worlds, for an enthusiast who puts practicality first, in theory at least. 

The Civic Type R’s 2.0-liter turbo four makes 315 hp and 310 lb-ft, with torque arriving between 2,600 and 4,000 rpm, a handy window for light off-road work. The Passport TrailSport, on the other hand, uses a 3.5-liter naturally-aspirated V6 with 285 hp and 262 lb-ft of torque peaking at 5,000 rpm. If Honda were to swap in the Type R’s K20C1, the TrailSport would stand to gain a whole lot of punch and lose some weight over the nose at the same time. The catch is that the Civic is front-wheel drive and manual only, while buyers of a trail-ready SUV probably want Honda’s i-VTM all-wheel drive and automatic, like on the Passport TrailSport. 

HRC Parts Hint At The Whole Recipe 

At SEMA last year, Honda Racing Corporation showed a Passport TrailSport HRC concept with a 2.4-inch lift, retuned suspension, 32-inch all-terrain tires, and skid plates that were more than just decoration. The 2027 TrailSport has already been tweaked for better off-road ability, with 9.65 inches of clearance even rivalling ladder-frame competition. A factory Type-Trail model could stack HRC-style hardware on that base and add Type R power on top. It’s a stretch, considering the badge has never sat on an SUV, let alone one meant for mud, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed that the trademark filing is a sign of things to come.