In an interview with CivicXI.com last week that you can see here, Honda Media Relations Manager Carl Pulley revealed that the manual transmission will live on in the next generation of the Honda Civic. Pulley confirmed that both the Civic Si and the Civic Type R will exclusively feature Honda’s legendary manual gearbox. Pulley also said that while the manual transmission will no longer be available in the sedan, buyers will still have the option to check the box for a manual in the five-door hatchback.

We here at TMGPS are obviously excited that Honda is continuing with its tradition in offering their performance line of Civics with no other option than a stick shift. Starting with the third generation of Civics, the Si variant hit the U.S. shores in November of 1984 with five-speeds commanding 91 horsepower from a 1.5 liter 12-valve SOHC engine. VTEC was introduced to the U.S. spec Sis in 1992 with the fifth generation Civic, again with five speeds and an increase of power to 125 horsepower from a 1.6-liter engine. The legendary 1999 Civic Si was and still is the Civic that most of us remember from our youth. The B16 VTEC 1.6 liter 4 cylinder sporting a 8200 RPM redline brought 160 horsepower to the five-speed manual. Iconic Electron Blue Pearl paint made for one of the most coveted front-drive performance cars of all time.

While Japan has enjoyed Type R variants of Hondas for decades, America only recently began to enjoy performance-focused Civic Type R in 2017. Whereas the Civic Si historically sports more luxurious amenities like a moonroof and a modest power increase over a regular Civic, the Type R in recent years has bet big on horsepower and suspension tweaks. The current Civic Si’s 205 horsepower is respectable; however, the Type R’s 306 horsepower makes it debatably one of the best front-drive track attack machines. The Civic Si features a snappy six-speed manual. The Civic Type R once again shows its racing roots, offering a shorter throw gear selector and automated rev matching for both upshifts and downshifts.

As of now, Honda has not released power numbers for the eleventh-generation Civic Si or Type R. Whether power numbers increase or stay put, it’s not too early to say that these two performance models will be Honda’s best efforts in the Civic range to date.