On the Nürburgring Nordschleife, the 2023 Honda Civic Type R is the fastest front-wheel-drive production car. Honda says the new Type R finished the 12.94-mile run in 7:44:881, beating the 2019 Renault Mégane R.S. Trophy-R’s record of 7:45:399. A dealer put the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 track tires on the record-setting CTR for $1780. The front-wheel-drive 2017 Honda Civic Type R is a beast. When Honda said its car was the fastest front-drive production vehicle to lap the famous Nürburgring Nordschleife, the rest of the world was told what we already knew. The car with 315 horsepower went around a 12.94-mile course in 7:44:881. A 2019 Renault Mégane R.S. Trophy-R set the old FWD record, which did it in 7:45.399. The CTR did a lap of the ‘Ring on Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, while the Trophy-R used Bridgestone S007 tires. Ordinary people can get these tires, which look like race tires, as a $1780 dealer-installed choice. The film below shows the R-rated Civic set on the lap record from inside the car. People who remember that the 2017 Civic Type R from the last generation had a faster lap time of 7:43.80 on the Nürburgring may be confused now. The Nürburgring has changed a lot since then, as our partners at Road & Track have pointed out. The people in charge of running the track have started tracking lap times. This includes setting new rules for where a lap starts and ends. The Nordschleife is now 12.94 miles long, longer than when it was 12.8 miles. Because of the extra 0.14 miles and official timekeeping, lap times recorded before and after the 2019 rule changes can’t be compared directly. Because of this, the new CTR is just as fast as the old one. This was clear during our most recent Lightning Lap when the 2023 Civic Type R set a new speed record for a front-wheel-drive car at Virginia International Raceway (VIR). With a time of 2:58.8, it was also 1.9 seconds faster than the Type R Limited Edition that had come before it.
