The 2021 Honda Civic Type R Limited Edition takes the Type R formula to a slightly higher level, and Honda set out to prove it on the racetrack. We all know how dear the Suzuka Circuit in Japan is to Honda — remember Ayrton Senna’s NSX-R lap in loafers? And now Honda has taken to the same track to set the front-wheel-drive production car lap record.
To nobody’s surprise, the Type R Limited Edition did set the new record at 2:23.993. It beat the Renault Megane RS Trophy-R by about a second and a half around the technical circuit. That Renault is also the current front-drive record holder at the Nürburgring, so we’ll give you one guess as to where Honda is taking this car next. Honda hasn’t claimed that it will break any lap records, but its status as the best Type R for the track is quite suggestive, and we totally expect the company to be back on the Nordschleife soon.
This Suzuka lap record was broken back in February during testing of the new Type R. Technically, it was a Euro-spec development car, but Honda claims it was set up with the exact specifications as the production vehicle with no modifications or performance enhancements. We’ll note that the European-spec car comes standard with no air conditioning or infotainment system, making it 35 pounds lighter than the car we’re getting that adds that equipment back in. That poundage probably wouldn’t make much of a difference over the short lap, but hundredths and thousandths of a second are important when we’re talking lap records.
Honda says all the changes made for the Limited Edition help it get around the track quicker — you can get the deep dive on the car itself and more photos from our reveal post. However, Honda didn't mention how much quicker it was than a standard 2020 Type R. There will be 600 of the Limited Edition models coming to the U.S. in total, and they’re due to arrive this summer. Allotments in Canada sold out within four minutes, so if you want one, it’s monumentally important to act quickly.
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