Watch The FK8 And FK2 Honda Civic Type R 'Ring Laps Side By Side

The ‘FK2’ Civic Type R’s once record-breaking Nurburgring lap is utterly bonkers. 7min 50.63sec is one hell of a time, so to see the car’s replacement - the ‘FK8’ Type R - best it by almost seven seconds is impressive indeed.

This side-by-side comparison puts the improvement into perspective, and as a bonus, Honda itself has also put together a fascinating video featuring FK8 Type R chassis testing chief Ryuichi Kijimi. In it, he details several points of the Nordschleife where the new car is significantly faster than the outgoing FK2, with the help of a ghost car to illustrate further.

While the FK8 has received only a modest increase of 10bhp relative to the outgoing machine, it has a significantly improved chassis. It’s ditched the old torsion beam rear suspension for a fully independent, multilink setup, the wheelbase is longer, and it now sits on wider tyres front and rear.

The Nurburgring test car also had Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s fitted in place of the standard Continental Sport Contact 6s. It’s not confirmed yet, but we suspect the Michelins will be appearing on the options list.