Now that it doesn’t have to hide it anymore, we can be sure that Honda will be showing us the new Civic Type R as much as possible. Among the facts dropped about the scalding hot hatch revealed during its Geneva Auto Show review was the fact that a prototype model ran the Nurburgring in seven minutes and 50 seconds, specifically 7:50.63. Now that the cat’s out of the bag, Honda wants us to see that lap time in action and have released the cockpit footage of the run.
This makes the new Type R the fastest front-wheel drive production car ever to go ‘round the ‘ring, snatching the record away from the Renaultsport Megane 275 which ran a 7:54.
The run was done back in May of last year, with everything from the suspension to the exhaust and aero package identical to the production Type R. A roll cage was added for safety, not rigidity, and to offset the additional weight, the front passenger seat and air condition was removed.
No slicks were used, according to Honda. The run was made on 235/35R19 road tires developed “in conjunction with a major European tyre manufacturer especially for the new Civic Type R.”
All the great things we’ve been hearing about the Civic Type R is always sourly punctuated with the fact that it isn’t U.S.-bound. Maybe if we keep saying how jealous we are, Honda will relent and send this new one our way.
