Red Hot 2023 Honda Civic Type R Conquers “Green Hell” Nurburgring with New Front-Wheel Drive Track Record

  • Civic Type R now holds lap records at two legendary racetracks, Suzuka and Nürburgring Nordschleife
  • The pinnacle of Honda factory performance, the new Civic Type R is the fastest, most powerful Honda vehicle ever offered in Canada
  • In-car video documents the record-setting lap

The all-new 2023 Honda Civic Type R, the most powerfulHonda production vehicle ever sold in Canada, has set a new track record for a production front-wheel drive car1 around the iconic 20.8-kilometre Nürburgring Nordschleife in Germany—widely considered the most challenging road circuit ever devised—during testing and performance evaluation.

The officially measured new lap record time of 7 minutes 44.881 seconds2 further demonstrates the improved dynamic performance of the new, more powerful Civic Type R compared to its predecessor.

For the record-setting lap around the Nürburgring Nordschleife, the Civic Type R was fitted with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires jointly developed with Michelin using know-how amassed through the development of the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, which is the standard tire on the turbocharged hot hatch. Available through Honda dealers, the bespoke Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 further enhances the circuit performance of the vehicle, improving dry grip performance and Type R’s well-balanced handling.

Message from Hideki Kakinuma, Civic Type R Development Leader
“To our Civic Type R fans all over the world: 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. Since the start of sales in Japan in September 2022, we have received numerous customer feedback from all around the world filled with amazement and joy, far exceeding our expectations. However, we still had one more mission to fulfil, which was to claim the title as the world’s fastest FWD car with a record Nürburgring lap time. Six years after the lap record was set by the previous-generation Civic Type R (FK8), we reached this new dimension as a result of all the passions we poured into and all the advancements we made for this Type R model. Finally, our wish to share this title with all Type R fans all around the world came true. We sincerely hope that all current and prospective owners of the Type R will enjoy and love their vehicle with the pride we share with you.”

For more information on the Honda Civic Type R click here.

1 Based on official Nürburgring Nordschleife lap records (as of March 2023).
2 An official Nürburgring Nordschleife lap measurement. The lap time was measured based on the official rules instituted in 2019, with a full lap of the Nordschleife, which is 20.832 km long. Before 2019, lap times were measured with the lap length of 20.600 km and were not officially certified by the Nürburgring.