Watch the Honda Civic Type R Dominate the Nurburgring

You wouldn’t think that a front-wheel drive hatchback could match, much less best, Nurburgring lap times from some of the world’s most vaunted rear-drive sports cars. But that is exactly what happened when Honda took a pre-production version of its stratospheric Civic Type R to the famed German track.

Paralleling the Type R’s official production debut at the Geneva Motor Show, that lap video has surfaced and it’s quite the eye opener. There’s plenty of tire torturing going on as well as the audible growl from the Civic’s 2.0-liter VTEC turbo stretching its legs.

The video isn’t without its controversy, however. Honda achieved an astounding 7 minutes 50.63 seconds around the ‘Ring – four seconds faster than the Renault Megane Trophy-R front-wheel drive record holder – but did so using a development car with a roll-cage. According to Honda, the cage was for test safety only and offset the car’s lack of air conditioning, the front passenger seat, and audio equipment. Worry not though, Honda has confirmed it will send a production version around soon enough for a real attempt at the title.

Sadly, it isn’t a car that the US will see in the immediate future. The Type R is based on the European Civic hatchback, not our North American version. If you do find yourself across the Atlantic however, Honda has announced pricing. The basic Type R will retail in the UK for £29,995 (about $46,000 at today’s rates) with the additional ‘GT’ technology packed version coming in at £32,295 ($49,500).