The Honda Civic Type R Has Blitzed The FWD 'Ring Record With A 7:43 Lap

Honda has reclaimed the front-wheel drive Nurburgring record from VW with a stunning 7min 43sec lap belted out by the new Civic Type R
The Honda Civic Type R Has Blitzed The FWD 'Ring Record With A 7:43 Lap

We all knew this was coming. Although Honda wouldn’t explicitly say it when the new Civic Type R was revealed in Geneva, it was pretty heavily hinted that the hot hatch monster was going to have a crack at the front-wheel drive Nurburgring lap record formerly owned by its predecessor.

Had a crack it certainly has, and it’s snatched the FWD ‘Ring crown from the VW Golf GTI Clubsport S by around three seconds with a stunning 7min 43.8 lap.

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As much as we love the Clubsport S - and we really do love it - you can’t escape the fact it’s a limited-run special. With no back seats.

The Type R you see here on the other hand is - according to Honda - a development car with “technical specifications representative of the final production car”. It has a roll cage for safety reasons, which Honda insists didn’t make a difference to rigidity, and to compensate for the weight increase, the rear seats and infotainment system were temporarily removed. So, find a handy driver who doesn’t care about the lack of roll cage and strap him into a box fresh, production Type R, and a similar time should in theory be achievable.

The Honda Civic Type R Has Blitzed The FWD 'Ring Record With A 7:43 Lap

There is however one detail we couldn’t help but notice in the press release, and it concerns the boots the car was wearing. These were apparently “road legal track-focused tyres”. We wouldn’t call the Continental Sport Contact 6s the Type R will have fitted as standard “track-focused,” and sure enough a quick email to Honda UK confirmed that the car was running on Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s.

The last time we asked, the Sport Contact 6s were the only tyres available on the car from factory, but it looks as though that has changed. We’ll know for sure if the Cup 2s are available as an option closer to the car’s launch.

The Honda Civic Type R Has Blitzed The FWD 'Ring Record With A 7:43 Lap

So, potentially stickier tyre compounds aside, how has the new Type R managed to be nearly seven seconds faster than the old car, despite only having a 10bhp increase from its 2.0-litre engine? It’s a variety of factors: the torsion beam suspension setup has been ditched for an independent, multilink affair, the tyres are 10mm wider front and rear, the wheelbase is longer, the aero package is even more developed than that last car’s, and the body frame is 38 per cent stiffer than before.

Nurburgring lap records are always best taken with a little pinch of salt, but this latest one certainly suggests the new Type R is as bonkers fast as we’ve been hoping. We’ll be taking our first drive in a couple of months, and we can’t wait.

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Comments

Anonymous

Why does the timing begins in one part of the “straight” and ends on another, much sooner?

04/24/2017 - 15:30 |
2 | 2
Octorio

Good for Honda though…
they should be proud of themselves, for like the millionth time, but who’s complaining???

04/24/2017 - 16:00 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

Having a ride this sweet with G-Shield windshield…

04/24/2017 - 17:51 |
0 | 4
TheMindGarage

I honestly don’t give a sh*t. Just because the car is fastest around the Nurburgring doesn’t make it the best car. If I were to have any FWD car, it would still be the GTI Clubsport.

04/24/2017 - 18:36 |
2 | 6
Anonymous

The steering seems right frantic and unstable.

04/24/2017 - 20:38 |
2 | 2
Nerdy moustache

i am suspired the engine didn’t fail.

04/25/2017 - 19:17 |
6 | 0
Anonymous

I love how when Honda pulls out a new record without proper telemetry proof, everyone is like ‘wow, savage!’

Yet when Lamborghini smashes the Porche 918’s record, all the Porche fan girls cry fake.

Funny world we live in…

04/25/2017 - 22:52 |
2 | 0
Klockorino

MUGEN POWAAAAAAA

04/27/2017 - 00:37 |
0 | 0
Sky 39

They should do Type R I, Type R II, Type R III, etc. So they can make a faster car without making a whole new car or waiting the facelift version to be released

08/06/2017 - 04:30 |
0 | 0