2023 Civic Type R Spotted At Nürburgring, Could Be Chasing FWD Record

Unless you’re living under a rock, you should know that Honda has already introduced a new-generation Civic Type R. And you know what that means – the title for the quickest front-wheel-drive production vehicle at the Nürburgring is up for another contention from Honda.

Of note, the current title holder for production cars is the Renault Megane RS Trophy-R, which lapped the ‘Ring in 7 minutes and 40.1 seconds. Before this, the previous-generation Civic Type R held the record. Will Honda take the title back from Renault with the new red-badged Civic Hatchback?

That’s something that we have yet to know but it seems like Honda is already in Germany to challenge the existing record. That isn’t confirmed, but a new 2023 Honda Civic Type R was spotted lapping the Nürburgring, courtesy of Misha Charoudin, owner of Apex Nürburg – a company that caters to tourists who want to experience fun at the Green Hell. We embedded the social media post above but you can also access it via the source link below.

According to Charoudin, two Civic Type Rs were exclusively lapping the track. The weather also agreed with Honda for this alleged attempt. If the automaker's successful, expect an announcement in the weeks to come.

Based on the 11th-generation Honda Civic Hatchback, the Civic Type R FL5 is powered by the same turbocharged 2.0-liter engine but uprated to 315 horsepower (235 kilowatts) and 310 pound-feet (420 Newton-meters) of torque, which is an increase of 9 hp and 15 lb-ft over the old model. The improvements include optimized turbine blades that produce greater pressure with a wider range and more efficiency. The exhaust has also been updated to expel more gas. The new model also received suspension tweaks for better performance. 

This resulted in a better lap time from the Civic Type R, outperforming the FK8 at the Suzuka Circuit even before the car was revealed.