Small wonder why Honda is previewing the car so early. It certainly is radically restyled compared to the current 7th-generation Civic.

But you can tell that this car still has some strong resemblances to the Civic Si coupé concept shown last month at the Chicago Auto Show, especially the nose design. That tells us Honda has decided to go with a single basic design worldwide for the 8th-generation Civic, but will likely sell it this way:

3-door hatchback--Europe and Japan only.
5-door hatchback--Europe and Japan for now, maybe North America in second year of production run.
4-door sedan--Japan and North America only.
2-door coupé--North America only.

The US-market Civics will likely sport two engines, a 140 bhp engine tuned for broad torque band and very good fuel economy and a 200 bhp engine tuned for performance. The 250 bhp engine on the Civic Type-R could end up on a two-door coupé based on the Acura TSX (European-market Accord) design.