What's the news?
We're really not sure what the point is of Nurburgring records, other than the ability of one car maker to lord it, briefly, over another. Still, they are there and once one record is in place, someone's got to smash it...
Thus it is that Honda has re-taken the front-wheel drive record for lapping the famed race track in the Eiffel Mountains, with the latest version of the Civic Type-R. It uses a mildly tweaked version of the old model's 2.0-litre turbo VTEC engine, now developing 320hp and 400Nm of torque, running once again through a six-speed manual gearbox and driving the front wheels only.
The new Civic's body, in spite of being larger, is 16kg lighter than the old one, and is 38 per cent stiffer, according to Honda. The multi-link rear suspension has been re-worked which has apparently significantly increased stability under braking (helpful when there are more than 70 corners to deal with at high speed...), and there's a full aerodynamic makeover and a big, proper Type-R bodykit.
All of that adds up to speed, and a seriously quick lap - 7 minutes, 43.8 seconds.
Ryuichi Kijima is the lead chassis engineer for the Honda Civic Type R. He explains where the all-new model shows the most significant improvements around the Nürburgring compared to the previous generation car.
"The cornering speed achieved in the new Type R is higher because the car features a wider track and tyres, a longer wheelbase, new multi-link suspension in the rear and optimised aerodynamics that improves stability, " said Kijima-san. "For example, drivers typically enter the corner after Metzgesfeld at around 150 km/h. Even at this medium-speed corner, the speed is around 10 km/h higher due to the new Type R's excellent stability. So, with improved cornering performance, we can increase the speed throughout the lap, helping the new Type R to achieve a much quicker lap time."
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