Honda will build a more powerful Civic Type R if the Nürburgring lap record is beaten

Nürburgring lap records do not stay unbeaten for long, nor do we go long without witnessing a battle of heavyweights between two major brands for the prestigious title. That is what we saw last year, when Seat with the León Cupra and Renault with the Mégane RS made relentless attempts to set the best lap time. Even the Spanish manufacturer has tested the León ST Cupra on the legendary German circuit.

That is why, just three months ago, we learned that Honda had already taken the Civic Type R to the Nürburgring and, with a time of 7:51:42, became the front-wheel-drive vehicle to lap the track in the least time. Its record was invalidated because the unit used to set that time was a development prototype, and the rules are clear: only strictly production vehicles are eligible.

Even with this precedent, at Honda they are very confident that their lap time would hardly be beaten, and so they plan to try again before the end of this year. But, as we have said before, “the king is not king for long at the Nürburgring” and, sooner or later, someone will lower the Civic Type R (test) mark. With this in mind, the Japanese manufacturer has already issued a warning: if anyone beats its lap time, they will build a more powerful Type R.

When Hisayuki Yagi, chief engineer at Honda, was asked what they would do if their lap time were beaten, he stated: “Well, if it is a limited edition, then we would have to think carefully about whether we should build a car that surpasses that mark. But, on the other hand, if a rival has a car with specifications and characteristics comparable to the Civic Type R that beats the record, we would have to come back and win.”

Yagi pointed out that the Type R has considerable room for improvement in terms of its power-to-weight ratio, so a lighter and more powerful version would be the way forward, though nothing extreme. One thing is clear: the manufacturers want the title and will not give it up easily. An exciting battle is about to break out and, luckily, we will be witnesses.

Via | CarScoops

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HatchbackHonda Civic3 versions · from 36,300 €