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Hot Hatch
The history of Nürburgring hot hatch records
Renault, Seat, VW and Honda: the hot hatches that have done the business. Contains videos
As the new Honda Civic Type R takes three seconds out of the VW Golf GTI Clubsport S to claim the front-wheel-drive Nürburgring record, we thought it was about time we recalled hot hatch record-holders from the last ten years or so.
For consistency’s sake, we’ve stuck with official, manufacturer-quoted times. Some may well have used trick tyres and so on, but that’s their business. And a whole other, lengthy argument. On with the list…
Advertisement - Page continues belowRenaultsport Megane R26.R (2008) – 8m 17s
The first hot hatch that marketed itself on being the fastest around the ‘Ring. The R26.R was a limited-edition Megane with the same engine (2.0-litre turbo four, 227bhp), gearbox and differential as the regular R26, but it weighed a stonking 123kg less.
It had no rear seats, climate control, radio, fog lights, headlamp washers or passenger airbag. It also had little soundproofing, a carbon bonnet, some polycarbonate (plastic) windows and proper Sabelt racing seats. Very sticky tyres, a roll cage and titanium exhaust were all optional. A very serious bit of kit. And a superlative drivers' car.
Renaultsport Megane 265 Trophy (2011) – 8m 07.97s
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The R26.R’s record stood for three years, until Renault trimmed nine seconds off it with this – the Megane 265 Trophy. (Much) less hardcore than the R26.R, but another three years’ worth of chassis & suspension development, 35 more horsepower and yes, sticky tyres, make a difference.
Advertisement - Page continues belowSeat Leon Cupra (2014) 7m 58.44s
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Renault must have been aghast. It’d had the ‘Ring record business all to itself for six years, and now here was Seat, a brand with much less hot hatch heritage, treading on the toes of its immaculately clean racing booties.
The Leon Cupra 280 was the first FWD hatch to dip below the eight-minute lap. Seat claim the record was set in production car with “an optional Performance Pack that includes Brembo high-performance brakes, specially designed 19-inch alloy wheels and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres.” The driver was touring car ace Jordi Gené.
He later took a couple of seconds off the time with the Leon Cupra ST. That made it the fastest estate car at the Nordschleife, but no longer the fastest front-driver. Because quicker still was...
Renault Megane RenaultSport 275 Trophy R (2014) – 7m 54.36s
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...another Renault Megane. If Seat was hoping for a year or more at the top of the tree, it got just three months, because that’s how long it took Renault to announce it had beaten the Spaniards' time by four seconds.
Renault only brought 30 record-setting 275 Trophy Rs to the UK. It was 100kg lighter than the normal RenaultSport Megane, and came with special Öhlins dampers, Michelin rubber and an Akrapovic exhaust. Like the R26.R, it did without air-con or a radio, though you could option them back in. And also like the R26.R, it was excellent.
Honda Civic Type R (2014/15) – 7m 50.63s
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Renault got a taste of its own medicine when, at the 2015 Geneva motor show, Honda announced it had set a blistering 7 minute 50 second FWD record with a pre-production Civic Type R (standard, but passenger seat, stereo and air con removed to offset weight of roll-cage).
The record was broken in May 2014, around the time Renault set what it thought was a record with the 275 Trophy R. But while Renault announced in June of that year, Honda held off for almost a year. Must have been hard keeping that to themselves...
Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport S (2016) – 7m 47.19s
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Volkswagen’s first crack at the record yielded a 7:49:21. Fast enough to break the record – driver Benny Leuchter told us he had to “push like hell” – but not fast enough to put clear air between it and the Civic. So VW went back a few months later, gave Benny some brave pills and sent him out once more. He went another two seconds faster.
The Clubsport S is a limited-edition (400 worldwide), stripped-out, semi-slick tyred, uber powerful and aero’d version of the standard Clubsport (now known as the ‘Edition 40’). Weight is down (no rear-seats, armrests and less sound-deadening) and power up to a Golf R-equaling 306bhp. Sticky, road-legal rubber completes the package.
Advertisement - Page continues belowHonda Civic Type R (2017) – 7m 43.8s
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The new Civic Type R (which you can read all about by clicking here) gave Honda the perfect excuse to reclaim its ‘Ring record. It obliged with a 7:43:80, set in a development car “technically representative of production specification”, but missing the infotainment system and rear seats to offset the weight of the floating roll cage. Honda says the tyres were road-legal, but “track-focused”. However much of a discussion that causes, there's an almighty gap between this and the Golf.
Wonder if VW, Seat and Renault are watching? Heck, we know they are...
