Honda unveiled a lightweight version of its Civic Type R for 2021 that's more track focused.

The Type R Limited Edition is an obvious Renault Mégane RS fighter—after the French car beat Honda's front-wheel-drive lap record at the Nürburgring last May.

Honda's not saying it's going after that record again, but we're going to keep our eyes peeled.



In 2017, just before the imminent release of the first U.S. Civic Type R, Honda set the world-record front-wheel-drive lap time at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, or Green Hell as it's known to some, for its 12.9 miles of expert high-speed turns and corners. At 7:43.8, the Type R was officially, the baddest of them all, but nothing lasts forever. In May 2019, the Renault Mégane RS lapped the ring at a comparatively quick 7:40.1, thrusting it to the top of the record books, but how long can the record stand? Enter the 2021 Honda Civic Type R Limited Edition.

View Photos Maxwell B. Mortimer Car and Driver

For 2021, Honda plans to take its newly updated 2020 Type R and give us an even more track-focused version. While there are no official times yet, we believe the CTR Limited Edition should have no problem setting a better time than the Mégane RS. To make that task possible, 46 pounds of weight was shed from various areas. First, Honda started by swapping wheels: the Civic Type R Limited will forgo its heavier, standard 20-inch wheels for lighter forged aluminum BBS wheels of the same size, reducing unsprung mass by 18 pounds. An additional 28 pounds of miscellaneous weight will be dropped through the removal of the rear heating ducts, tonneau cover, wiper blade, and sound-deadening materials. The Euro-spec Limited Edition will come to customers even lighter by ditching the infotainment and A/C systems, shedding an additional 24 pounds of weight.

Weight isn't the only change, though, Honda previously revised the damper tuning for the 2020 model, and this carries over to the Limited Edition, including the addition of a more capable processing module that sends 10 times the amount of data to the dampers per second over the pre-mid-cycle refresh. Another addition will be lighter, two-piece front brake rotors (part of the 2020 Civic Type R update) and brake pads with a reworked compound. Moving to a two-piece rotor also helps prevent deformation from excess heat when tracking. Updated lower ball joints with reduced friction add more immediacy to turn-in, and the revised rear control-arm bushings are now 8 percent stiffer than before. For the 2020 Civic Type R, Honda also recalibrated the steering tuning for additional precision and feedback, though it was already pretty damn good to begin with.

View Photos 2021 Honda Civic Type R Limited Edition. Honda

Sadly, an active or dual-mode exhaust was not on the list of changes. When asked whether it would ever be part of future plans, a Honda spokesperson said they would prefer to keep the exciting sounds of the car on the inside with the driver. Like the recently updated 2020, the Civic Type R Limited Edition will get pumped-in Active Sound Control, which amplifies or adds to the engine's sounds in the cabin based on the chosen drive mode. Both the 2020 Civic Type R and the Limited Edition will come standard with Honda Sensing driver-assistance and safety suite, but in a car so dedicated to driver enjoyment, we just hope they're easy to turn off.

The Euro-spec Limited Edition car that we were able to get our eyes on wore Michelin Sport Cup 2 tires in the same 245/30ZR-20 size as the standard Civic Type R, but we couldn't get confirmation of whether it would carry over to the U.S. model. For what it's worth, we think it will. We won't know how much the reduction in weight or improvement in grip will add to its performance, but we'd wager that acceleration could improve a tenth or two and that the skidpad number should easily crest the 1.0-g mark.



Definitely Nürburgring Bound

It's been confirmed that the Type R Limited Edition will go back to the Nürburgring to verify and test the improvements to the new variant, but not necessarily to take back the lap record, according to Civic Type R project leader Hideki Kakinuma. However, in the event it beat the record, there's no indication that Honda would want to keep that a secret. We'll stay tuned and suggest you do, too.

The Civic Type R is the 11th car to be graced with the Type R badge. To honor those before it, the Limited Edition will only be offered in Phoenix Yellow Metallic, so we hope you like ketchup and mustard. Additional tweaks to the exterior include a black roof, hood scoop, and side mirrors, as well as dark chrome badging on the rear.

Going on sale this summer, the Limited Edition will be part of a 1000-car production run, each with its own numbered plaque. Of those 1000 cars, 600 will be allotted to the United States, 200 to Japan, and 100 to Canada and Europe. Anybody who wants one had better move quickly.

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