Faster, lighter Honda Civic Type R variant possible

The 2015 Honda Civic Type R is mighty fast for most people, we would assume. With a pre-production mule lapping the Nurburgring in 7:50.63, the Civic Type R now holds the record for the fastest front-wheel drive vehicle to have ever gone round the Green Hell. Well done, chaps. Now, go get some rest. Right?

Wrong. According to project leader, Hisayuki Yagi, a faster, lighter Civic Type R variant will be developed should a rival hatch rob Honda of its Nurburgring title. “At the start of development we set the target to be the fastest front-drive hatchback around the Nurburgring Nordschleife. And we are. If someone takes our record, we will take it back,” said Hisayuki to Motor Trend.

Stripping the car down and adding power was the only option left, according to Hisayuki. “We didn’t leave ourselves any margin of safety in that lap,” he added, further reinforcing the notion that the current car has been driven to its absolute limit. Should said variant come into existence, just how much more power will be added and weight removed, you ask?

An addition of around 20 horsepower coupled to a weight cut of approximately 20 pounds (9 kg) is the rumoured target, according to Hisayuki. “You can feel there is headroom for more power from the engine. It’s all about power to weight ratio,” he added.

Hisayuki also revealed that the pre-production mule that lapped the Nurburgring was equipped with the same unmodified engine, suspension setup and tyres as that of the production variant. The only difference is the absence of an air-conditioning system which Honda claims was offset by the inclusion of a roll cage – the latter was reported to play no significant increase in rigidity as it was mounted via rubber blocks.

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