2017 Honda Civic Type R Is The Fastest FWD To Have Conquered The Nürburgring

The 2017 Honda Civic Type R is the latest title holder of being the fastest FWD vehicle to tackle the Green Hell. Honda's hot hatch kicked Volkswagen GTI Clubsport's record.

The forthcoming hot hatch set a record time around the Nürburgring of 7:43.8, which you can watch in the video below. This is a seriously impressive performance for an FWD vehicle. And unlike the VW record holder, the 2017 Honda Civic Type R can actually be purchased at local dealerships.

It was last April 3 that Honda took back the record as part of the Type R's development program. In fact, the 316 bhp Type R was faster by 3 seconds than the GT Clubsport and 7 seconds quicker than the previous Civic Type R model.

According to Honda, the impressive and improved lap time is the results of a number of improvements such as more structural rigidity, hardcore chassis tuning, a wider track, longer wheelbase to handle corners better, and advanced multilink rear suspension that works with fatter tires. Honda also pointed out that the Type R has an average speed of around 93 mph at a specific corner at the Nürburgring, but it can go to 99 mph through the turn.

Also notable is that the 2017 Honda Civic Type R that took the Nürburgring by storm is not 100% stock. Installed in the hot hatch is a full roll cage, well for safety reasons. Also, to cancel out the weight gain, the infotainment system and rear seats have been temporarily removed. However, the record-holder hot hatch was fitted with "road-legal, track-focused" tires.

And of course, there will be some sort of controversy or some form of skepticism surrounding the new record set by the 2017 Honda Civic Type R. But Honda said that the set lap time is what they call "pre-production model that was technically representative of production specification."

Regardless, there is a new Nürburgring crown holder and it's once again the 2017 Honda Civic Type R. If you want one, contact you nearest dealers, but in the meantime, check out the full lap video footage below.