Lighter - Fl5 Type R special edition "S grade" set the recent Nurburgring record (not yet sold, will be in some European markets as LHD only)

[mbaapk]

I believe the run in the 2017 FK8 car was in stock form. This FL5 is obviously not.
Especally the Cup 2 tires made a big difference in a long track.

And? Wasn’t the fk8 lighter stock? You can think of the wheels (which are a type r specific upgrade) like anything else with a new version of the car (new turbo, etc). So there really is no point other than the FL5 broke the track record.

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[ne_typer]

I believe the run in the 2017 FK8 car was in stock form. This FL5 is obviously not.
Especally the Cup 2 tires made a big difference in a long track.

2017 FK8 car had a cage, no rear seats, no infotainment, and had Cup 2’s.

 

[keller]

From Autocar - the megane for over $80k

“
not to mention extensive – weight-saving focus of this car that is a key aspect of what makes the Trophy-R special. The rear seats have been stripped out (-25.3kg); a lightweight Akrapovic titanium exhaust has been fitted (-7kg); there’s a new carbon-composite bonnet and carbonfibre rear diffuser (-8kg and -2.3kg respectively); thinner rear glass has been installed (-1kg); and there’s now no rear wiper either (-3kg).

The list goes on, of course, but the most eye-catching change is that Renault Sport has done away with the 4Control four-wheel steering that so polarises opinion on the standard models. This change alone amounts to 32kg being removed, and is a key contributor to Trophy-R’s total weight saving of 130kg over the regular Trophy. Renault claims a minimum unladen kerb weight of 1306kg – although, with a full tank of fuel, our car weighed in at even less: 1280kg.”

They built only 500 Trophy R, but this is not the record setting car. That was the "Nurburgring pack" Trophy R ($80k), of which only 30 were ever built.

All that to beat the mass produced fk8, whose lap time at the time was dismissed because Honda "cheated" by using Cup2s (not a factory item). That's the reason the fk8 LE was fitted with cup2s from factory. The added roll cage and weight savings to compensate for it were fine because other manufactures did the same.

It's ok for Honda to create a new "S grade" submodel just to get the title back. What kind of annoyed me is that they failed to mention it. Even if this S grade has extra boost and shorter gearing, it's not a problem as long as they are sold that way.

 

[theycallmebutter]

2017 FK8 car had a cage, no rear seats, no infotainment, and had Cup 2’s.

You are right.
Wasn't the FL5 run using the Euro Model which puts out 325 while FK8 was 306?

 

[ne_typer]

You are right.
Wasn't the FL5 run using the Euro Model which puts out 325 while FK8 was 306?

FK8 EU rating was 320ps, 316hp.

All of this is splitting hairs. The FL5 was over 4 seconds faster to cover the same lap as the FK8.

 

[Truu]

I'd love for this to come to the US.

Its the same as US vehicle without AC or GPS.. Everything else we dont have in the US vehicle.. Remove AC and GPS and add the tires and boom here you got a Type R+S

 

[juanmasubbie]

They remove all these things to offset the weight of the cage. Cancels out in the end, and car weighs the same as stock.

 

[TypeRD]

That’s the crazy thing. They didn’t put a cage in the FL5.

 

[1971Camaro]

That’s the crazy thing. They didn’t put a cage in the FL5.

yah, crazy... hmmm. wonder how they decided that... maybe the experience of the driver with the track?

 

[Dennis]

Since 2019, any official lap record attempt on this circuit for production cars have to be done with ECE type-approved vehicles without modifications.
This means that Honda couldn't install any roll cage in the car, unless it was homologated as a road legal part into its type-approval EU file.

 

[UFO CTR]

don't forget the fancy footwork...
did that make it into the rules?

 

[randomFL5guy]

I'm surprised they deleted all these random things to save the weight. They could have just taken the rear seats out or done lighter wheels and gotten pretty close, and that way people wouldn't have been so up in arms because either would be easy to do at home.

 

[Cornercarver]

You ever know one of those drivers with a great car who couldn't find the racing line on a dragstrip, has the delicate pedal work of the Hulk, and the gear timing and selection of a random number generator? Yeah, me too. He shows up in the mirror too often when I am driving. That is the part that really needs to be tweaked, tuned, upgraded, in a word - modified. Until that is optimized, seems pointless to spend money on parts versus instruction.

We are all driving legends in our own minds. Yet most pros would laugh their asses off riding shotgun.
Doesn't mean we don't have fun, or moments of greatness. Once in a blue moon it all comes together and I have the temporary illusion that I know what I'm doing. Then I try to repeat it, and reality sets in.
But we have to fight the good fight. Pros have a bad day if they get even one or two things wrong. The rest of us have a fun day if we get anything right.

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