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Honda Civic Type R clocks 7:50.63 front-drive 'Ring record

Lapping the Nurburgring in under seven minutes may be the ultimate bragging right for supercars, but further back down the field, a battle is being waged between front-drive hot hatches to see which can scope a lap time under eight. Seat was first to claim the crown with the Leon Cupra at 7:58, which was subsequently beaten by the Renaultsport Megane 275 Trophy-R at 7:54. All the while Honda pledged to take the record with the new Civic Type R. And that's just what it's done. As you can see from the video above, Honda's new hot hatch clocked a time of 7:50.63, making it the fastest front-driver ever to lap the Nordschleife and blindingly fast by any account. Honda suggests that the lap was clocked while testing the stock street-legal rubber (and not on slicks) and claims that the roll cage clearly seen in the video was fitted "for safety reasons and not to add rigidity," with extraneous equipment like the front passenger seat and audio system were removed to compensate for the cage's weight. Of course with no official sanctioning body verifying these times and the equipment in which they're achieved, they're a subject of much debate, but there's no getting around the fact that the new Civic Type R is one very serious piece of machinery indeed. NEW HONDA CIVIC TYPE R THROWS DOWN NURBURGRING GAUNTLET - Honda announces Nurburgring lap time for Civic Type R development car - 7 minutes 50.63 seconds lap time is unmatched in the front-wheel drive hot hatch class - Lap time achieved in development car with technical specifications representative of the final production car At the world premiere of its all-new Civic Type R at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show (5 - 15 March; Stand 4250, Hall 4), Honda announced that a development car had achieved a 7 minutes 50.63 seconds lap time of the legendary 20.8 km/12.9 mile Nurburgring Nordschleife in Germany. This time is unmatched by any other front-wheel drive performance hatchback. The lap time was achieved during the final phase of pre-production testing in May 2014 by a Civic Type R development car. The development car was in a standard state of engine tune, with suspension, drivetrain, exhaust, brakes and the aerodynamic package identical to those of the production Civic Type R. The removal of equipment such as air conditioning, the front passenger seat and audio equipment offset the additional weight of a full roll cage (installed specifically for safety reasons and not to add rigidity).

Honda Civic 5-Door mule spotted testing

Rather than the current split between the North American Civic and the European version, Honda is taking the popular compact model global for its new generation. We've already caught glimpses of the next coupe in patent documents, covered in camouflage, and even in concept form in New York. However, the promised five-door hatch to be assembled in the UK but available in the US has remained more of a mystery – at least until these great spy shots. There's no mistaking that this mule started life as an Acura ILX, but the luxury sedan is highly modified for this duty. At the front, look closely to see where Honda's engineers tack on extra width around the wheel arches. Of course, the big star here is the rear end. The back is completely covered in camo, but the concealment isn't good enough to hide the hump of the hatchback. The sliced-off shape is actually somewhat reminiscent of Europe's current Civic five-door. Also, note that the taillights on this test car are similar to the ones on the concept in the Big Apple. Honda promises coupe, sedan and five-door body styles, and the next-gen Civic will be powered in the US by a turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder with the choice between a six-speed manual and a CVT. The first of them go on sale here this fall, although not all the variants will likely launch at the same time.

Honda Civic Tourer sports forbidden facelift

Following up on a sextet of spy photos from June, we now have another batch of images of the facelifted Euro-spec Honda Civic undergoing testing in the United Kingdom. There's a bit more sheetmetal to this particular prototype, though, as our spy photographers have caught the upcoming Tourer model (pronounced "wagon" among us Yanks).
Like the hatchback we showed you last month, the new Tourer benefits from the same set of styling tweaks inspired by the Civic Type R Concept from March's Geneva Motor Show. That means it boasts a revised front fascia, albeit with a more heavily camouflaged version of the grille shown in last month's photos. It's a similar story below, where the intakes on this long-roof model wear more disguise, yet look to be virtually identical to what we've already seen.
While the headlights still look to be a straight lift from last month's car, the more upright nature of the Tourer's tailgate demands a more subdued character. Gone are the thin, curvy LED taillights, and in their place sit significantly more substantial units (with conventional bulbs), although they boast none of the design chutzpah shown on our last round of spy photos. Our spies claim LED taillights will be available, noting that they simply aren't fitted to this particular prototype, a distinction that suggests this is a lower-end model.