Civic Type R is fastest front wheel drive car at the Nürburgring
Yet in 2019 the Renault Megane RS Trophy R went 4 seconds faster than the Honda. We explain the conflicting times
21 April 2023 - 11:27
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The new Honda Civic Type R has etched its name into record holders at the Nurburgring. Picture: SUPPLIED
There’s a new lap time record for series production front-wheel drive cars at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. It was set by the latest Honda Civic Type R, which posted a time of 7 minutes 44.881 seconds, but it’s not cutanddried.
In 2019 the Renault Megane RS TrophyR, a lightened special edition of the series, was declared the fastest front-wheel drive car at the Nürburgring with a time of 7 min 40.10 seconds. This French hatch achieved this milestone on the 20.6km loop of the famed track.
Honda bases its new record on the smidgen longer 20.8km version of the track where the Megane TrophyR posted a time of 7 min45.39 seconds.
The latest Honda Civic TypeR sped past this 200m longer section in 7 min 44.881 seconds, making the TypeR nearly half a second faster than the Megane through this section.
The latest model, which will make its SA debut next week, is powered by a 2.0l VTEC turbo engine inherited from the previous-generation Civic TypeR, but the engine performance is enhanced through the adoption of an all-new turbocharger and other advancements. It produces 243kWand 420Nm — an increase of 21kW and 20Nm.
Cooling performance along with heat release and aerodynamic performance were improved through various measures, such as the enlargement of the front grille opening area and the effective opening area of the radiator.
Downforce is enhanced by adopting detail-orientated body part designs both in the front and rear of the vehicle. It uses a braking system inherited from the previous-generation model, but modified to further improve controllability of the brake for the entire speed range, from low to high speed.
It broke the record shod with grippy Michelin Pilot Sport CUP 2 Connect tyres jointly developed with Michelin, and leveraging on the development of the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S, which is the standard tyre for the Civic TypeR.
“Under the concept of ‘Ultimate SPORT 2.0,’ we developed the all-new Civic Type-R with the spirit of ‘going beyond our past achievements’ and strived for the ultimate FWD sports car by refining the ‘essential value’ and ‘emotional appeal’ unique only to our Type R models,” said Hideki Kakinuma, Civic Type R development leader.
Catch my first drive impression of the new Honda Civic Type R in Cape Town in about a week’s time.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
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Civic Type R is fastest front wheel drive car at the Nürburgring
Yet in 2019 the Renault Megane RS Trophy R went 4 seconds faster than the Honda. We explain the conflicting times
There’s a new lap time record for series production front-wheel drive cars at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. It was set by the latest Honda Civic Type R, which posted a time of 7 minutes 44.881 seconds, but it’s not cutanddried.
In 2019 the Renault Megane RS TrophyR, a lightened special edition of the series, was declared the fastest front-wheel drive car at the Nürburgring with a time of 7 min 40.10 seconds. This French hatch achieved this milestone on the 20.6km loop of the famed track.
Honda bases its new record on the smidgen longer 20.8km version of the track where the Megane TrophyR posted a time of 7 min45.39 seconds.
The latest Honda Civic TypeR sped past this 200m longer section in 7 min 44.881 seconds, making the TypeR nearly half a second faster than the Megane through this section.
The latest model, which will make its SA debut next week, is powered by a 2.0l VTEC turbo engine inherited from the previous-generation Civic TypeR, but the engine performance is enhanced through the adoption of an all-new turbocharger and other advancements. It produces 243kW and 420Nm — an increase of 21kW and 20Nm.
Cooling performance along with heat release and aerodynamic performance were improved through various measures, such as the enlargement of the front grille opening area and the effective opening area of the radiator.
Downforce is enhanced by adopting detail-orientated body part designs both in the front and rear of the vehicle. It uses a braking system inherited from the previous-generation model, but modified to further improve controllability of the brake for the entire speed range, from low to high speed.
It broke the record shod with grippy Michelin Pilot Sport CUP 2 Connect tyres jointly developed with Michelin, and leveraging on the development of the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S, which is the standard tyre for the Civic TypeR.
“Under the concept of ‘Ultimate SPORT 2.0,’ we developed the all-new Civic Type-R with the spirit of ‘going beyond our past achievements’ and strived for the ultimate FWD sports car by refining the ‘essential value’ and ‘emotional appeal’ unique only to our Type R models,” said Hideki Kakinuma, Civic Type R development leader.
Catch my first drive impression of the new Honda Civic Type R in Cape Town in about a week’s time.
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