The all new Honda Civic is certainly a looker no matter which particular angle you approach it from. Even better new syet for Honda’s hottest hatchback -- it is now a record holder at the legendary Nurburgring track in Germany. Of course, we are not referring to the stock Honda Civic model, but rather, the one that sets pulses racing -- the soon-to-arrive Honda Civic Type-R. This particular ride has managed to break the previous lap record when it comes to the front-wheel-drive production car category, and which better place to do so than at Germany’s Nurburgring Nordschleife race track. After all, this is the place where many have considered it to be the benchmark where overall performance is concerned.

There are 306 ponies raring to go under the hood of the Honda Civic Type-R, which completed the 12.9-mile-long circuit in a matter of 7:43.8. The previous record holder was no pushover, being the European Volkswagen GTI Clubsport S. That record by the by Volkswagen GTI Clubsport S has seen more than three seconds shaved off, and the lap itself was quick enough to elevate the 2017 Honda Civic Type-R to the hallowed company of other high performance cars on the all-time leaderboard. Among the notable names include the mouth watering BMW M4, Lamborghini Murcielago and Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. The all time record holder is still some ways off though, with a time of 6:52:01 that was set by the Lamborghini Huracan Performante. To be fair, you would have to fork out a whopping $275,000 for that bad boy in order to achieve such results.

And with the Honda Civic Type-R costing seven times less than that amount, it is pretty good bang for your hard earned buck, don’t you think so? This winged five-door ride is tipped to arrive with a sticker price tag in the region of $35,000 to $40,000 as it hits the market later this summer. Underneath the hood lies a ‘mere’ 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder which is full well capable of unleashing 295 lb-ft of torque thanks to a six-speed manual transmission.

To date, the 2017 Honda Civic Type-R would be the most powerful Honda-badged model ever to see action in the US. Unofficially, however, it is not able to hold a candle against the 573 hp Acura NSX which on paper, would be able to leave this year’s Civic Type-R in the dust. However, that beast known as the Acura NSX is sold under the Honda badge outside of the US, and it has not yet dropped the gauntlet at Nurburgring to record an official lap time.

Now that would be something which we would like to see. Still, it is not too late to save up your money and wait for the 2017 Honda Civic Type-R to hit the market. After all, this is one serious rice rocket that has the capability to smoke certain cars as the red light turns green. Just make sure that your right foot is heavy enough to place the pedal to the metal!