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Previous-Gen Honda Civic Type R Is Such a Bully, Officially Breaks Lap Record to Prove It

Prior to the unveiling of the new-gen Civic Type R, expected in a few months, before launching in North America this summer, Honda has proved that its predecessor is still a front-wheel drive champ by setting yet another lap record.
2021 Honda Civic Type R Limited Edition 37 photos
Photo: Honda
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With Tony D’Alberto, former Super2 and Australian GT Endurance champion, in the driver’s seat, the 2021 Civic Type R Limited Edition broke the front-wheel drive lap record for production cars at The Bend Motorsport Park, in Australia. The compact hot hatch completed the course in 2:12.260, beating the 2020 Civic Type R by almost one second.

If the conditions had been cooler, I’m confident we could find a few more tenths and even get the Type R Limited Edition into the 2-minute 11-second bracket,” said D’Alberto. “But the aim was to set a new lap record for Honda, and we actually achieved that with both cars, which shows just how good the Civic Type R is – I can’t wait to see what the engineers are able to achieve with the next generation model that’s now on the horizon.

Before reminding you what we know about Honda’s upcoming compact hot hatch, we’ll refresh your memory by highlighting some of its predecessor’s achievements. In 2017, it broke the front-wheel drive lap record at the Nurburgring Nordschleife with 7:43.8. The next year, it did the same at five other European racetracks, and in 2019, it set an unofficial record at Australia’s Mount Panorama, Bathurst race. In 2020, it took on the Suzuka Circuit too, part of the Civic Type R Limited Edition’s final performance evaluation.

Building on the normal new-gen Civic, the 2023 Civic Type R will feature sportier looks, dedicated chassis setup, and beefier brakes. The cockpit will be enhanced too, and under the hood, it will pack a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that will direct the still unknown output and torque to the front wheels through a six-speed manual transmission. The numbers should be similar to those of its predecessor, which has 306 hp and 295 lb-ft (400 Nm) of torque in the United States available via the right pedal.

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About the author: Cristian Gnaticov
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After a series of unfortunate events put an end to Cristian's dream of entering a custom built & tuned old-school Dacia into a rally competition, he moved on to drive press cars and write for a living. He's worked for several automotive online journals and now he's back at autoevolution after his first tour in the mid-2000s.
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