Honda Civic Type R: new lap record for the Japanese sports compact

The Honda Civic Type R has set the best lap time at the Estoril circuit among production front-wheel-drive cars.

The Honda Civic Type R has set a new record that makes it one of the fastest front-wheel-drive vehicles in the world. The Japanese compact completed a lap of the Estoril circuit (Portugal) in 2 minutes and 1.84 seconds, the best time ever recorded by a front-wheel-drive car on that track. Honda test driver Tiago Monteiro, who competes in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCR), Tiago Monteiro, was in charge of driving the Civic Type R to this new record.

“We came with the goal of beating the lap record set by the previous Type R, but you can never be complacent, because it was no easy task. To attack a circuit like Estoril you need total confidence in the car, and the new Civic Type R is so powerful and smooth that it gives you that confidence. We managed to beat the record… Well, in fact, we beat it by a wide margin. The Type R is a very stable car with excellent braking efficiency and an incredible engine, so you feel like you are driving a racing car. When you are on the track, it is very easy to forget that you are driving a road car, and then you can drive it home. The new Type R represents a major evolution. I mean it is a completely different car in its design, aerodynamics, suspension, geometry and engine, but above all, in the feeling it gives you when driving,” says Tiago Monteiro after setting the fastest lap.

The new record set at Estoril is not the first the Japanese compact has achieved on a circuit; in fact, it is the fourth front-wheel-drive lap record set by Honda in 2018. To date, the Civic Type R has achieved the best times at Magny-Cours, Silverstone, the Nürburgring (Nordschleife) and Spa-Francorchamps. The previous generation Honda Civic Type R also set lap records at Estoril, Hungaroring, Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps.

Technical specifications of this car

HatchbackHonda Civic3 versions · from 36,300 €