Almost a year has passed since the Honda Civic Type R lost the title of fastest front-wheel drive model on the Nürburgring. The culprit? Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport S.
After the German model twice broke the record in the mythical “Green Inferno”, the second time in December, Honda engineers got to work to try to create an even more powerful and dynamic model than the previous one, a tailored sports car for track times – it was no coincidence that part of the development of the new Honda Civic Type R took place precisely at the Nürburgring.
In the new Civic Type R we find again the 2.0 Turbo VTEC engine (coupled to a six-speed manual gearbox), now with 320 horsepower , 10 hp more than the previous generation.
After the promises made at the Geneva Motor Show, at the time of the official presentation of the car, Honda decided to move from words to deeds. And if there were any doubts that the new Honda Civic Type R is faster on track than the previous one, they were dispelled last April 3rd at the Nürburgring.
The lap time was 7:47.19, taken by the Golf GTI Clubsport S, three seconds off the previous generation Honda Civic Type R. The new model stopped the clock at 7:43.8, a new record for front-wheel-drive production models on the Nürburgring.
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According to the Japanese brand, the only difference between the production version and the model used on the German circuit (apart from the specific tires for the track) is the roll cage, for safety reasons, but even so “does not add any additional rigidity to the structure of the car. car". To compensate for this extra weight, the rear seats and the infotainment system were removed.
Without further ado, stay with the video:
Honda's hot-hatch arrives this summer on production lines at the brand's factory in Swindon, Wiltshire, and should arrive in Portugal this year. As for the 400 hp Honda Civic Type REV hybrid, our little April 1 start so soon won't have the green light to move into production…
