Civic Type R to be driven by Jenson Button in new lap record attempts

The Honda Civic Type R is set to take on several iconic European circuits in lap record attempts piloted by 2009 F1 world champion, Jenson Button.

Button, who currently competes in a NSX in Super GT will join a driver line-up consisting World Touring Car Cup drivers Tiago Mnteiro and Esteban Guerrieri as wells as Betrand Baguette, who also competes in NSX Super GT.

The team will be charged with breaking lap records at a number of European circuits, including some where the previous generation Civic still holds the record for front wheel drive vehicles such as Silverstone, Spa-Francorchams and Estoril.

The new Honda Civic Type R Time Attack, which is will be used for the attempts, is set to be revealed at the Geneva Motor Show in March. It retains the heritage of Honda’s high-performance hatchback bloodline and is the fastest accelerating and quickest car in its class. The latest car to sport the famous ‘red H’ was part of the all-new tenth-generation Civic’s development programmeand was engineered to deliver the most rewarding drive in the hot hatch segment, both on road and on the race track. It features a lightweight, highly rigid bodyshell, low centre of gravity, and sophisticated dual-axis strut front suspension system, which reduces torque steer and enhances on-the-limit cornering.

Powered by a 2.0-litre VTEC TURBO engine, the new Honda Civic Type R offers a peak power output of 320 PS at 6,500 rpm, and peak torque of 400 Nm from 2,500 rpm to 4,500 rpm. The car has a top speed of 272 km/h (169 mph) and 0-62 mph is achieved in just 5.7 seconds. In April 2017, a production development car became the fastest front-wheel drive production car ever around the Nürburgring Nordschleife, with a lap time of 7 min 43.8sec

Watch the Nurburgring lap below.