Honda Civic Type R sets new Nurburgring lap record
Honda’s veritable hot hatch breaks front-drive benchmark with 7min 43.80 sec 'Ring lap timeHonda has given the best indication yet that its new Civic Type R is the real deal: confirming it has broken the Nurburgring Nordschleife lap record for a front-wheel drive vehicle.
The new hot hatch set a benchmark time of 7min 43.80 sec, the Japanese manufacturer confirmed today, breaking the previous benchmark set by the Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport S.
Honda has published onboard video of the lap at its Youtube channel.
First shown at the Geneva motor show, the flagship Type R boasts a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine with 235kW of power and 400Nm of torque. The car’s six-speed manual transmission clearly didn’t pose any timing setbacks around the challenging 20.8km layout, either.
Honda Australia has confirmed the record holder will arrive in local showrooms before year’s end.
The lead chassis engineer for the Civic Type R, Ryuichi Kijima, said the car’s high-rigidity body, added torsional stiffness (up 38 per cent on predecessor) and new multi-link rear suspension were all vital pieces in the record lap.
“The cornering speed achieved in the new Type R is higher because the car features a wider track and tyres, a longer wheelbase, new multi-link suspension in the rear and optimised aerodynamics that improves stability,” he said.
“For example, drivers typically enter the corner after Metzgesfeld at around 150 km/h. Even at this medium-speed corner, the speed is around 10 km/h higher due to the new Type R’s excellent stability. So, with improved cornering performance, we can increase the speed throughout the lap, helping the new Type R to achieve a much quicker lap time.”
The record-breaking car was completely standard save for a floating roll cage, according to Honda. The added weight of the cage was offset with the removal of the car’s infotainment system and rear seats. “Road legal track-focused” tyres were used during the test.
Honda’s latest record is no great surprise, given the Japanese manufacturer was caught testing its new model on the high-speed test track during development.
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