Suzuka’s 3.6-mile route was originally built as a test facility for Honda.
Honda
Last month Honda released a short video with one Civic Type R Limited Edition for the Japanese Suzuka Circuit, but gave us no context. We assumed the new Type R was there to set a hot lap time, and as it turned out we were right.
The Honda Civic Type R Limited Edition is officially the fastest front-wheel drive car in Suzuka, the company confirmed on Tuesday. The 2-minute lap time of 23,993 seconds was completed by the driver of the Super GT series, Takuya Izawa, during the last type R performance tests in February with a production car according to European specifications. You can see his record run in the video below.
This time of 2: 23.993 is about one and a half seconds better than the previous record holder, the Renault Megane RS Trophy-R. This is also a good sign of the Civic Type R’s future lap record attempts. Honda unofficially said that the Limited Edition should be a time attack car, with the ultimate goal of regaining the Type R title as the fastest front-wheel drive car on the German Nürburgring-Nordschleife . The Megane RS Trophy-R is the current Nordschleife FWD champion. We will be curious if the Type R can achieve a similar performance as soon as the world opens up again for fun.
Honda will build 1,000 Limited Edition Type Rs, all painted in Phoenix Yellow, 600 of which are destined for the United States. The 2.0-liter turbo I4 engine with 306 hp transfers unchanged, but this Civic has specially tuned dampers, newly calibrated steering, and more powerful tires. The U.S. Limited Edition is about 46 pounds lighter than a standard Type R thanks to lighter 20-inch BBS wheels, less sound-absorbing materials, and removal of the hatch wiper, rear heating ducts, and tarpaulin. and air conditioners removed, resulting in an additional 30 pounds of weight loss.
The 2021 Honda Civic Type R Limited Edition will be available in the coming months. The prices are expected to be around $ 40,000.