Honda Just Smashed Five European Circuit Lap Records With The Civic Type R To Prove A Point

Despite the whole ‘production-ready prototype with a roll cage that made no difference honest, guv’ caveat, the 7min 50sec lap that the Honda Civic Type R clocked at the Nurburgring last year is mighty impressive. It’s now been ousted as the front-wheel drive Nurburgring king by the VW Golf Clubsport S - very much a production car but lacking rear seats - but fortuitously, Honda hatched a plan earlier this year that came to fruition just a few weeks after VW unceremoniously nicked its crown.

The plan in question involved taking a production Type R (no caged prototype shenanigans this time) to five of Europe’s most famous circuits - Silverstone, Spa Francorchamps, Monza, the Hungaroring and Estoril - to claim the front-wheel drive lap records for each.

The times, you ask? 2min 31.85sec for the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit with BTCC’s Matt Neal, 2min 56.91sec at Spa thanks to WTCC driver Rob Huff, 2min 15.16sec at Monza and 2min 10.85sec at the Hungaroring with WTCC’s Norbert Michelisz, and a 2min 04.08sec effort at Estorial with WTCC and Formula E safety car man Bruno Correia on driving duties.

It’s worth pointing out that a lot of this is more about benchmarking - after all, the other manufacturers of bonkers front-wheel drive hot hatch missiles haven’t been going to these circuits and setting ‘official times’. Indeed, a journalist on the Hungaroring ‘leg’ of the lap time tour even briefly held the lap record with a 2min 20sec effort, before Michelisz was sent out to set his time.

Still, if you look carefully enough, it is possible to put a few of these times in context. For instance, a pro driver at the 2017 Nissan GT-R launch we were at recently clocked a 2min 48sec lap at Spa Francorchamps, which is eight seconds faster than the Civic. Not a huge difference, considering the Civic has a lot less power and isn’t four-wheel drive.

So, now the gauntlet has effectively be laid down, it’s your move, VW….