Civic Type R Turns Record FWD Lap at Nurburgring

SWINDON, U.K. – The U.K.-built ’17 Honda Civic Type R records the fastest-ever lap for a front-wheel-drive car on the Nürburgring Nordschleife, the northern loop of the prestigious German racetrack and motorsports complex.

Dubbed the ‟Green Hell,’’ the 12.9-mile (20.8-km) racing circuit, home of the German Formula 1 Grand Prix until 1984, was lapped by the new Civic Type R in just 7 minutes and 43.8 seconds.

And considering the old adage, “win on Sunday, sell on Monday,” the effort bodes well for the car, which is the first of the range-topping Civic Type R models to reach the U.S. market.

The lap time was achieved during the final phase of Type R’s testing regime and represents an improvement of nearly seven seconds compared with the model’s predecessor.

This 10th-generation Type R uses a 2.0L VTEC turbocharged engine, producing 320 hp, 195 lb.-ft. (400 Nm) of torque and has lowered gear ratios in the 6-speed manual transmission to improve acceleration.

Its chassis is 35.2 lbs. (16 kg) lighter than the previous model, with torsional stiffness improved 38% to enhance steering response and cornering stability. Racetrack handling is further improved with new multi-link rear suspension.

Ryuichi Kijima, lead chassis engineer for the Honda Civic Type R, explains: “The cornering speed achieved in the new Type R is higher because the car features a wider track and tires, a longer wheelbase, new multi-link suspension in the rear and optimized aerodynamics that improves stability.”

He cites the example of the challenging Metzgesfeld corner where the car clocked 93 mph (150 km/h) some 6 mph (10 km/h) faster than the previous model.

For the driver’s safety, a roll cage was fitted to the development mule and weight savings were achieved by stripping out the infotainment system and rear seats. The car was using road-legal track day tires.

Production of the new Civic Type R will begin this summer at Honda of the U.K. Mfg. in Swindon, and it will be exported to Europe and other global markets, including Japan and the U.S. Its arrival in North America will mark the first time any Honda-badged Type R officially has been sold there.