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FastestThings

Cars

Honda Civic Type R

Honda states 275 km/h for the 2023 European Civic Type R FL5. Top Gear and Goodwood print 171 mph, the same figure rounded.

Also known as Civic Type R, FL5
Post on X (opens in a new tab)

Top speed

Published as 275 km/hPublished as 275 km/hPublished as 275 km/h

Manufacturer claim for the 2023 European Civic Type R FL5 (329 PS). Honda states 275 km/h. Top Gear and Goodwood print 171 mph, which is that figure rounded (275 km/h is 170.9 mph). The US FL5 claim of 169 mph is a different market figure and is not stored. No 0–60 is stored: US tests published 4.9 and 5.3 seconds.

ClaimedHonda (opens source in a new tab)

In context

  • 2.6× a cheetah's timed top speedSourced · Cheetah, 29 m/s. Sharp 1997, mean of three timed runs over 201.2 m
  • A football field in 1.2 sConstant · American football field, 100 yd (91.44 m)
  • London to New York in 20 h 15 minConstant · London to New York, 5,570 km great-circle

Worked out from the sourced figure above, which stays the ranked number.

This list

Why it's so fast

A car is fast when the force pushing it forward still beats the air, and when the tires and the gearing can use that force. A limiter is a different fact from an unlimited run.

  1. Drag and gearing

    Top speed is the balance point: thrust equals aerodynamic drag. The gearing has to still be pulling when the car gets there, or the engine falls off its power.

  2. What the sources signed

    A manufacturer claim, a magazine test and an electronic governor are not interchangeable. The measurement line says which one this page ranked.

A limited example is the Bugatti Chiron.

This is how the category works. A note written for this entry appears here once it is in the database.

Provenance

Every measurement

Claimed, measured and official figures side by side, each with its source. The ranked figure is marked.

  1. 275km/h171mph76.4m/s148knRanked figure

    Top speed. Manufacturer claim for the 2023 European Civic Type R FL5 (329 PS). Honda states 275 km/h. Top Gear and Goodwood print 171 mph, which is that figure rounded (275 km/h is 170.9 mph). The US FL5 claim of 169 mph is a different market figure and is not stored. No 0–60 is stored: US tests published 4.9 and 5.3 seconds.

    Claimed
    Honda (opens source in a new tab)
  2. 7:44.881Ranked figure

    Nürburgring lap. 20.832 km, the official full lap under the 2019 rules, as Honda states. 7:44.881. European Type R S, a lighter production grade sold in left-hand-drive European markets, not the US Type R. Car and Driver prints 7:44.881 for the 12.94-mile course and names the Type R S. Motor1 prints 7:44.881 and 20.832 km. The lap day and the driver are not in those three pages, so neither is stored.

    A later Golf GTI Edition 50 lap is faster and is a different car. Motor1's tyre name is Pilot Sport Cup 2 Connect; Car and Driver prints Pilot Sport Cup 2.

    Official
    Car and Driver (opens source in a new tab)

Reference

Specs

Model
2023 FL5, Europe, 329 PS
Layout
Front-wheel-drive hatchback
Market
Not the US 169 mph claim

Spot a wrong number?

Every report is read by a person, and corrections are dated on the page.