We are knew it would come but now Honda has officially confirmed it has just set the lap recording at the Nurburgring in the 2023 Civic Type R, taking out the front-wheel drive production car category.
The new Civic Type R, which has just begun arriving in Australia, set a blistering lap around the notoriously challenging German circuit in 7:44.881. That was achieved on the full 20.832km version of the course, which includes the start-finish straight. This layout has been certified by the Nurburgring since 2019.
Keen Honda fans might remember the old model lapped the circuit in 7:43.8, however, that was on the older 20.6km ‘uncertified’ version of the circuit. That was also a lap record back then for a production FWD. In a statement, development leader for the new Type R at Honda, Hideki Kakinuma said:
“Six years after the lap record was set by the previous-generation Civic Type R (FK8), we reached this new dimension as a result of all of the passions we poured in and all the advancements we made for this Type R model. Finally, our wish to share this title with all Type R fans all around the world came true.”
The vehicle that achieved the record ran the standard 2.0-litre turbo VTEC engine generating 243kW and 420Nm, as well as all of the standard trimmings and appointments inside. It also ran on the awesome Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 Connect tyres.
Braking performance comes thanks to a two-piece disc setup borrowed from the previous model, but engineers made some tweaks to the master power unit to improve controllability. Some revisions were also made to optimise air flow for cooling.
The 2023 Civic Type R is on sale in Australia right now priced from $72,600. But you might have to pull a few strings with your local dealer as back-orders are maxed out until 2024. Take a look at the video below to see the on-board record lap.
