Honda Civic Type-R Sets New Lap Record At Suzuka Motor Circuit

Honda Civic Type-R Limited Edition at Suzuka

Honda Civic Type-R Limited Edition becomes fastest front-wheel-drive car at Suzuka Circuit, beating Renault Megane RS Trophy-R by almost 1.5 seconds

Honda Civic Type-R is one of the most extreme cars ever made. It is a compact front-wheel-drive hatchback with over 300 horsepower. The Civic Type-R Limited Edition is a further extreme version of the car, with a single purpose – go fast on a racetrack. With Honda’s recent lap record at Suzuka Circuit, it seems like the car has that down.

Previously, the record was held by Renault Megane RS Trophy-R, the track-focussed version of the performance version of Megane hatchback. Renault had managed to lap Suzuka in 2 minutes 25.4 seconds at the end of 2019. Honda managed to do it in 2 minutes 23.993 seconds. For reference, Suzuka is a 5.8 km long track, with a 1.2 km long straight.

Technically speaking, Honda hasn’t used a production model, rather a development car. That said, the company claims that the development car has the exact specifications as the production-spec Type-R Limited Edition, with no enhancements or upgrades.

Honda Civic Type-R Limited Edition is, well, a limited-edition car. Only 600 units will ever be made, and all of them will sport bright yellow exterior paint. It is lighter than the regular Type-R due to the use of new forged Aluminium wheels. The insulation for sound deadening has also been reduced. For the European market, even the AC and infotainment system have been removed, helping the car shave a total of 47 kg over the ‘regular’ Type-R Civic.

Honda is yet to run the legendary Nürburgring track with the Type-R Limited Edition. Honda previously held the title for the fastest front-wheel-drive car at Nürburgring, but it was snatched by the Megane RS Trophy-R in May 2019. Renault had posted a time of 7 minutes 40.1 seconds, beating Honda by 3.7 seconds!

Honda Civic Type-R lap record at Suzuka

The Honda Civic Type-R Limited Edition is powered by the same 2.0-litre inline-4, turbocharged ‘VTEC’ petrol engine as the normal Type-R. Even the output figures are unchanged. This motor is capable of churning out a maximum power of 306 PS and a peak torque of 400 Nm. The car comes with a single transmission option, a 6-speed manual gearbox, and gets a limited-slip differential.