The article was originally produced on 13 June 2017, some facts and prices may have changed since then.

Honda Civic Type R

Once again, Honda gets its hands on the lap record for front-wheel drive cars at the historic Nürburgring. 

The Civic is in its tenth generation now and it is one of the most popular Japanese car models of all time. Generation 1 came in 1972 and the latest this year, 2017. In total, over twenty million Civics have been sold worldwide. 2001 saw the first Civic Type R. A sporty version with racing in its genes. The R in Type R stands for racing and Honda's success in racing came with the victory in 1965 when they became the first Japanese car manufacturer to win a Grand Prix with the model RA272. American Richie Ginther drove the white painted car with the classic red badge. In 2013, Honda returned to the WTCC, World Touring Car Champions, racing series. Then with a Civic Type R based on the previous generation Civic. 

We are at the Lausitzring in eastern Germany. An oval track but with three corners instead of two. Interlinked with the outer one is also an inner track with several tight curves where the car will really get to show what it's capable of. However, we already know that the Civic Type R is fast. Both the previous and the new generation broke the records for front-wheel drive cars on the classic German racing track Nürburgring, which now stands as the yardstick for how fast a car is. The new record time for the Civic Type R was 7 minutes and 43.8 seconds. This is 6.8 seconds faster than the previous generation which managed it in 7.50. 

Something that impressed a lot, but which had already disappeared almost completely, was that the last generation Civic Type R is so-called "Torque steer". A performance cars with too much engine power front wheel drive cars could suffer from. What happens is that the car pulls forward at full acceleration and becomes difficult to control. This is blown away on the new Civic Type R despite 320 horsepower and 420 Newton meters of torque. To reach up to 100 kilometers per hour only 5.7 seconds are needed and the top speed is reached at 272. 

Driving out on a track you have not driven before and in a car you have just sat in to perform and be able to evaluate is always a challenge and almost impossible even for the experienced. But when there is no time, you have to put all your senses to the max and make the best of the situation. What simplifies the whole thing is that the new Civic Type R is incredibly easy to drive. You can literally throw it into the curves and it will still stay on the track. We owe part of this to the new tires that are specially manufactured by Continental. But of course there are a number of other things that contribute to the new Civic Type R behaving so nicely despite advanced driving. Delving into this would unfortunately take far too long. A fun detail that makes even the not-so-experienced driver look like a rally pro behind the wheel is the intermediate throttles during downshifts that the car does on its own. We've seen it before, but then in cars with automatic transmissions. However, Honda was not the first to do this on a manual transmission car should be mentioned. At each downshift, the car gives intermediate throttle to raise the rpm and match that of the lower gear. In the past, you had to do this with your right heel on the gas pedal while braking and releasing with your left foot. 

The Honda Civic Type R is a sports car for everyday use. Maybe with a bit too much attitude for the elderly, but if you just dare to get behind the wheel, you won't want to let it go.