Like the tech industry’s lightning-fast progression, the auto industry’s titles for Best, Fastest, or Quickest car are prestigious but often fleeting. Just ask the Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport S; its record as the fastest front-wheel-drive production car to lap the Nürburgring has just been crushed by the 2017 Honda Civic Type R, less than a year after it was set.
The Japanese automaker claims that the all-new Type R lapped the 12.9-mile Nürburgring Nordschleife in just 7:43.80. That is 3.39 seconds faster than the limited-run Golf GTI Clubsport S and 6.83 seconds faster than the previous-generation European-market Civic Type R, which had held the record before the Clubsport flared its nostrils (twice). There is one catch, however.
This Type R was a preproduction development vehicle that Honda claims was “technically representative of production specification.” For safety purposes, a full floating roll cage was added to the Type R, but it supposedly did not add any extra rigidity to the vehicle. The added weight of the cage was offset by the removal of the display audio system and rear seats. Sticklers might take issue with that type of asterisk; as we saw with the Lamborghini Huracán Performante just how skeptical people are of claims surrounding these records.
The heart of the new Type R is a U.S.-made 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four that makes 306 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque, and is paired with a six-speed manual transmission. And although some people have already been complaining that that’s not enough power, it’s the hot hatchback’s handling dynamics that really allow it to excel. The Type R is a claimed 38 percent torsionally stiffer than the previous generation.
“The cornering speed achieved in the new Type R is higher because the car features a wider track and tires, a longer wheelbase, a new multilink suspension in the rear and optimized aerodynamics that improve stability,” the lead chassis engineer for the Honda Civic Type R, Ryuichi Kijima, said in a release. “For example, drivers typically enter the corner after Metzgesfeld at around 93 mph. Even at this medium-speed corner, the speed is around 6 mph 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.”
Honda has yet to even release zero-to-60-mph times for the Type R, so this is the first indication of what the car is capable of. With video below to document the accomplishment, it’s safe to say fanboys will be lining up for the Type R once it goes on sale later this spring.
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