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Would you believe that the new Honda Civic Type R is faster than either a Porsche 911 Turbo or Ferrari F430?

Well, it’s true.

Sort of.

After promising to be the fastest front-wheel drive car to ever lap the Nurburgring the Japanese automaker has just come through, announcing an astounding 7:50.63 lap time at the Green Hell.

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By comparison, according to the Wikipedia page that documents these feats, a Ferrari F430 has run a 7:55 while a 997 generation Porsche 911 Turbo managed a 7:54. The new Civic Type R is just 10 seconds off Porsche’s new Cayman GT4.

Until now the fastest lap time for a front-drive at the ‘Ring was a 7:54.36 achieved by the Renault Mégane RS 275 Trophy-R.

SEE ALSO: 2016 Honda Civic Type R First Look

Technically the car isn’t a production vehicle though, as the Civic Type R isn’t in production yet. Honda says the test was achieved using a “development car” with identical engine tuning, suspension, drivetrain, exhaust, brakes and aerodynamics of the upcoming production car. Certain equipment was removed from the vehicle, however, including the air conditioning, front passenger seat and audio equipment. Honda says this was done to offset the weight of a roll cage, which was, “installed specifically for safety reasons and not to add rigidity.”

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To verify the time and silence the haters, Honda has announced it will send a full production model to the Nürburgring Nordschleife later this year in the hopes of repeating its time.