It hasn’t been released yet, but Honda’s all-new Honda Civic Type R is already setting records.
The Type R has been credited with a new lap record for a front-drive road car at Japan’s Suzuka Circuit, home of the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix.
The previous Limited Edition Type R needed clocked 2 minutes and 23.993 seconds over the same course back in 2020, with Super GT racer Takuya Izawa at the wheel.
That’s almost a second faster.
Honda says the record lap was set during final preparations for performance and testing.
Before this, the record was held by the Renault Megane RS Trophy-R, with a time of two minutes and 25.454 seconds.
The world-famous 5.8 km Suzuka Circuit is renowned for its high-speed chicanes and challenging corners, with a distinctive ‘figure eight’ layout that includes a long 1.2km back straight, which passes over an earlier section of the circuit just after Turn 9.
Widely regarded as a highlight of the Formula 1 calendar, Suzuka has been an important testbed for developing performance Honda vehicles and engines since 1962.
Like its predecessor and the previous record-holder, the all-new Civic Type R got going with a rolling start.
It hit a top speed of 231km/h during the record lap.
On the list of top 100 times for the circuit, this puts Civic Type R below the 997 Porsche 911 GT3 RS (2:23.04) but above the Ferrari F40 (2:25.26).
The current Type R develops 228kW of power and 400Nm of torque, even more overseas where the fuel quality is higher.
The new model is expected to see a revised version of this engine with an increase in power, and will be available only with a six-speed manual.
All-new Civic Type R is scheduled to make its global debut in the northern hemisphere summer of this year, which means June through August.
CHECKOUT: Honda goes on a mind-bender
CHECKOUT: HR-V joins the hybrid bandwagon