Watch the Honda Civic Type R break the Nurburgring lap record

John Blair Automotive    21st April 2023

The Honda Type-R has reset the Nurburgring Nordschleife FWD hot hatch record.

Honda has done it again. The Japanese car maker with one of the world's most famed hot hatch has set its Type R Civic loose on the Nurburgring, claiming back the front-wheel drive hot hatch record.

Honda is no stranger to this record feat. The previous-generation FK8 Civic Type R set a front-wheel-drive hot hatchback lap record around the ‘Green Hell’ in 2017 with a time of 7 minutes and 48.3 seconds. The new FL5 model managed a time of 7 minutes and 44.8 seconds, adding to its lap record at the Honda-owned Suzuka track in Japan. You can watch videof the incredible hot lap below:

To make sure it was eligible for the record-breaking lap, the Civic Type R had to be essentially identical to a model you could buy from any dealer.

Powering the car was the same 2.0-litre, turbocharged four-cylinder engine with 242kW going through a six-speed manual transmission. And the Civic was fitted with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 Connect road tyres, which are available from Honda dealers.

What makes the new lap record even more impressive is that the Nurburgring was effectively expanded from 2019. The straight after turn 13 used to provide the marker for the start of a lap time, but now it’s nearer to turn 13. This means the Nurburgring only certifies cars that have undertaken the 9.652km distance, rather than the old 9.5km version.