Yahoo Autos 2023 Honda Civic Type R retakes the FWD Nurburgring record
It's been a few years, but Honda has recaptured the Nürburgring lap record for front-wheel-drive production cars. The 2023 Civic Type R is the new record holder, and it was done with a stock vehicle. The only slight change from the base factory specification was the addition of dealer add-on tires: a set of Honda-specific Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 Connect tires, so still something you can have on your example. In fact, Honda was fully prepared to break them out for the on-track press drive but California's winter weather had other ideas.
Now we haven't given the exact time yet because there's a bit of technical weirdness going on. The first thing to know is that, at some point in 2019, the Nürburgring adjusted the official distance for a record attempt, adding back a short stretch near the T13 corner. For years prior, the lap measured was 12.80 miles. The new length includes the full straight and measures 12.94 miles.
There are a couple implications that are critical because of this. First, previous times aren't directly comparable to new times. Second, the extra length means times can be a bit slower. All of this is at play with the Type R time.
