You Just Got Beat by a Civic

Yesterday, our man Matt Posky ably wrote about the 2023 Honda Civic Type R and its record-setting lap at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, circling the Green Hell in 7:44.881, enough to best the 2019 Renault Mégane R.S. Trophy-R by over half a second.

This got us thinkin’: with a time like that, what other cars did it beat?

Now, to be sure, there is some merit to the notion that it’s pointless for manufacturers to chase lap times around an arbitrarily selected ribbon of tarmac in the German countryside. With 12.9 miles, 154 corners, and a host of surface changes, it only takes a split-second of inattention to dramatically affect lap times. Nevertheless, measures of a car’s sporting prowess are often arbitrary – look at the quarter mile, for instance, and even the ubiquitous horsepower unit itself is rooted in a very random series of events.

Check out this video to see what we mean.

Here is a sampling of vehicles throughout the years which set official Nürburgring Nordschleife lap times which were slower than the 7:44.881 touted by Honda. Some of the times may be for minorly different track lengths thanks to variations over the years but still make for a fun comparison.

7:46 - Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera, 2007

7:46.70 - Porsche 718 Cayman S, 2016

7:49 - Chevrolet Corvette C6 Z06, 2007

7:52 - Aston Martin V12 Vantage S, 2014

7:52.17 - Toyota GR Supra, 2019

7:58 - BMW M2, 2015

8:14 - Range Rover Sport SVR, 2014

8:17 - Porsche Cayman S, 2009

8:18 - Ferrari 355, 1997

16:01 - Trabant P50, 1960

Progress, eh? And, in case you missed it, the record-setting Civic Type R was fitted with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 Connect tires, rubber jointly developed with Michelin using know-how amassed through the development of the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S. It is the latter which is standard kit on the R, though the ones used in the record are available through Honda dealers.

By the way, a Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo turned the trick in 5:19.546 in June 2018 with driver Timo Bernhard behind the wheel. Back in the (almost) real world, Stuttgart sent their Mercedes-AMG One around the place in 6:35.183 on the 20,832 meter lap, the same distance as the Honda.

[Image: Honda]

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