By Jethro Bovingdon
The iconic Nürburgring has been the key proving ground for Honda’s most exciting cars since the development of the very first Type R, the NSX-R supercar. The new Honda Civic Type R continues that tradition and is aiming to become the fastest front-wheel drive car to lap this tortuous but magnificent circuit.
The circuit is nestled into the forests of the Eifel Mountains in Germany and nicknamed the Green Hell, but for us it’s a mighty slice of heaven, and we’re not alone.
The sheer scale of the Nürburgring is difficult to imagine. It’s nearly 13-miles in length linked by 73 corners and it climbs 300-metres from its lowest point to its summit. It makes a modern GP track look like a Scalextric track and literally has whole villages enclosed within its vast outline. It is indisputably the most challenging circuit ever built. That’s why the new Civic Type R is being developed and honed here, in the toughest environment imaginable.
The highly anticipated new Honda Civic Type R
The magic number at the Ring is eight – as in a sub-eight minute lap. Once the preserve of highly specialised and expensive sports cars, that elusive time is now within the grasp of our fiercest hot hatch ever; the new Civic Type R. It will go underneath the magic eight, be sure of that, but one lap around here is never enough. It gets under your skin and has a draw that is impossible to resist for real enthusiasts.
The annual 24-hour endurance race on this track has become a festival for fans and a pilgrimage for drivers, and you don’t need to be a professional, lavishly-funded racing driver to be a part of this extraordinary event. Here’s a little taste of the fever of the place and the race, we suggest you put it in your diary for next year to experience it for yourself.
