2023 Honda Civic Type R Wins Front-Drive Ring Championship

At the Nürburgring Nordschleife, the 2023 Honda Civic Type R has set the record for the quickest front-wheel-drive production vehicle.

According to Honda, the new Type R completed the 12.94-mile course in 7:44.881, which was faster than the 2019 Renault Mégane R.S. Trophy-R’s 7:45.399.

The record-setting CTR was equipped with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 track tyres, a dealer-installed $1780 option.

The new Honda Civic Type R is a monster with front-wheel drive. Honda’s announcement that the NSX is the quickest front-drive production car to complete a lap of the famed Nürburgring Nordschleife serves as a reminder of its greatness for the rest of the world.

Honda Civic

The hatchback with 315 horsepower completed the 12.94-mile track in 7:44:881. The previous FWD record was set by a 2019 Renault Mégane R.S. Trophy-R with a time of 7:45.399. The Trophy-R utilised Bridgestone S007 tyres, while the CTR utilised Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s. Regular consumers can purchase these race-focused tyres as a $1780 dealer-installed option. Observe the R-rated Civic set the lap record from the cockpit in the video provided below.

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2023 Honda Civic Type R Nürburgring Nordschleife Record Lap

People who recall a 2017 Civic Type R from the previous generation posting a faster Nürburgring lap time of 7:43.80 may be rubbing their heads right now. As our colleagues at Road & Track have detailed, certain aspects of the Nürburgring have changed since then. In a nutshell, the track’s operators have begun regulating lap times, which includes new regulations regarding where a lap begins and ends.

Previously, the length of the Nordschleife was 12.8 miles, but it is now 12.94 miles. Due to the additional 0.14 miles and official timing, lap times recorded prior to the 2019 rule changes cannot be directly compared to those recorded afterward.

No, the new CTR is not slower than the previous model. During our most recent Lightning Lap at Virginia International Raceway (VIR), the 2023 Civic Type R became the quickest FWD car we have ever lapped. Its 2:58.8-second time was also 1.9 seconds faster than the previous Type R Limited Edition.

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Since 2016, Eric Stafford’s passion for writing news, reviews, and more for Car and Driver has been fueled by his early childhood addiction to automobiles. His childhood ambition was to become a millionaire with an automobile collection comparable to that of Jay Leno. Evidently, becoming wealthy is more difficult than social media influencers make it seem, so he eschewed financial success altogether by becoming an automotive journalist and driving new cars for a livelihood. After graduating from Central Michigan University and working at a daily newspaper, he was recruited by Car and Driver after years of essentially wasting money on failed project cars and lemon-flavored jalopies. His garage currently houses a 2010 Acura RDX, a 1997 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 with a manual gearbox, and a 1990 Honda CRX Si.