Honda Civic Type R Hits the Track Fighting the Stopwatch, It's Quicker Than a Lexus LC

That may not sound like an impressive achievement, but winning is winning, and to do so, Honda has come up with a lightweight version of the Civic Type R. It adds the S suffix and comes at the expense of many goodies, like the satellite navigation system, air conditioning, parking sensors, electrically adjustable side mirrors, and several other things.

Mind you, the Honda Civic Type R S will only be marketed in left-hand drive configuration on the right side of the pond, where the model is already a bit punchier than its North American counterpart. While the latter has 315 horsepower (319 ps/235 kW), the Euro-spec FWD hot hatch from the Japanese company enjoys ten hp more, at 325 hp (330 ps/242 kW). The turbo'd 2.0-liter four-cylinder mill is hooked up to a six-speed manual transmission. Honda claims 5.4 seconds are required for the 0-62 mph (0-100 kph) sprint in the European model and that it can do a 171 mph (275 kph) flat-out.

Now that we have reminded ourselves a bit about the exciting hot hatch, it's time to see another Euro-spec example being punished between the apexes. SportAuto put an experienced driver behind the wheel of the car and set it loose at the Hockenheim GP against the stopwatch. At the end of the hot lap, the vehicle was clocked at 2 minutes and 1.4 seconds. That may not tell you much, but the description accompanying the video embedded below reveals that the new Civic Type R was quicker than the BMW M440i Coupe. It was also faster than the Mercedes-AMG C 43, Lexus LC 500, BMW M340i xDrive Touring, and the old Porsche 911 (964) Carrera RS.

It was an impressive achievement for the new Honda Civic Type R, which finished the course two-tenths behind the M340i xDrive Sedan and almost one second after the M240i and Jaguar F-Type P450. Further up the chart, you will find its direct rival from the diamond auto marque, namely the Renault Megane RS Trophy-R, which did it in 1:59.2. The Audi RS 5 Coupe is listed at 1:58.4. The first three positions are occupied by the Manthey Porsche 911 GT2 RS, with 1:43.5, the Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series with 1:43.3, and the McLaren Senna, which is the undisputed champ of the Hockenheim GP with a time of 1:40.8. You can watch the clip of the run down below.