Honda to Debut Electric SH-AWD Technology in CR-Z Race Car

by Jason Siu of www.autoguide.com

At the 2015 Pikes Peak Hill Climb, Honda will compete in a CR-Z outfitted with next-generation hybrid technology featuring Electric SH-AWD paired with Precision All-Wheel Steering (P-AWS). While details on the new Electric SH-AWD system are scarce at the moment, it is believed to use a pair of electric motors to power the rear wheels, an idea that has been used in other supercars including the Porsche 918 Spyder.
The car will be driven by Tetsuya Yamano and features aggressive bodywork including vents in the rear quarter panels.

There’s the possibility that Honda has outfitted the CR-Z with the same powertrain found in the upcoming NSX or it could just be the same 3.5-liter V6 with SH-AWD borrowed from the Acura RLX Sport Hybrid.

Expect more details to surface in the coming week as the 2015 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb will kick off on Sunday, June 28 with qualifying and practice happening days before the event.

Source;
http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2015/06/honda-cr-z-bringing-electric-sh-awd-to-pikes-peak.html

Honda plans upgrades for next F1 test after tough start for McLaren

By Jonathan Noble of www.autosport.com

Honda will introduce a host of upgrades to its latest Formula 1 engine for the next test at Barcelona to solve the reliability problems that it suffered at Jerez this week.

The Japanese manufacturer faced a spate of niggling issues with its new power unit in F1's first 2015 test, which included sensor problems, oil level issues and a fuel pump failure.

With the reliability dramas limiting Honda's running to 79 laps over four days, it is clear a step forward is needed ahead of the next test which begins on February 19.


Honda's motorsport chief Yasuhiso Arai has no doubts that the difficulties it has faced this week will be sorted so that its Barcelona-spec engine will run better.

"There are many difficulties that we had this week, but we will fix it before the next Barcelona test and get back to work again," he told AUTOSPORT.

"The new engine will be a step up, because we are taking things step-by-step. Some parts will be final [race] parts, but not all.

"There are several testing parts still, and we will take final confirmation on those just before Melbourne."

Arai said that he had still total faith that Honda and McLaren would be able to perform strongly this season, and said he was encouraged that the Jerez dramas were not caused by any major design fault.

"There was no major big trouble," he said. "Our package is very tight and skinny, but some points have been validated.

"It is a tight package, but we had no big trouble with it."

Source;
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/117604

McLaren and Honda unveil 2015 F1 car

by Scott Collie of www.gizmag.com

For long-time Formula One fans, the combination of McLaren and Honda will bring back fond memories of the epic battles shared by Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna. Although they were teammates, their great rivalry created some of the best racing F1 has ever seen, and a golden era for McLaren. Now the McLaren-Honda combination is back, with McLaren's 2015 chassis to be powered by Honda's RA615H power unit.

For the rest of the article;
http://www.gizmag.com/mclaren-honda-mpa-30-2015-f1-car/35864/

TopGear: Listen to the new McLaren-Honda

Your first taste of 2015’s most anticipated new Formula One car. But who’ll be driving it?

Honda is returning to the Formula One grid to power next year's McLaren MP4-29H/1X1. For anyone who remembers McLaren's late 80s/early 90s form, this is news to get excited about.

For those that don't, a smidge of context. McLaren switched to Honda power for the 1988 Formula One season, using a 1.5-litre turbocharged V6 engine powering the cars of Messrs Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost.

Were they successful, you might ask? Fuhgeddaboudit. It was almost embarrassing; McLaren won 15 of the 16 races that year, taking the constructors' and drivers' championships with it.

McLaren won both 1989 titles too, with Honda's new 3.5-litre V10. And then again in 1990. And then again in 1991. The partnership with Honda then, was bloody successful.

So, after a dismal few years, McLaren has reenlisted the help of its former Japanese partner for next year. The video above gives you a little taster of what it'll sound like - and we must stress it's a very little taster. And judging from the car's first tests, there's still some work to be done - electrical issues blighted the first test at Abu Dhabi, and it then completed just three laps in total, following a ‘fuel/data exchange issue'. This sounds like quite a big issue.

Nevertheless, McLaren reckons the test was useful, and has all its fingers and toes crossed that come Australia next year, it'll give the Mercs a run for their money.

But with the team still undecided on its driver line-up (though Fernando Alonso is hotly tipped to make up half of it), who'd you like to see behind the wheel of the new McLaren-Honda?

Source;
http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/mclaren-honda-formula-one-car-2015-first-video-2014-12-01

Video: Honda’s 2015 F1 Engine Teased

Not long after revealing the first image of its 2015 Formula One engine, Honda has released an interesting video of the powertrain. It provides us with some up close details of the engine while also previewing how it sounds albeit under some fairly loud music.
Honda left Formula One as an engine supplier back in 2008 but due to the new turbocharged V6 engines adopted this year, has decided to return to the top form of motorsport for next season. Just the McLaren cars will use the Honda engines but there’s a possibility more teams will adopt the Honda engine in coming years depending on their success.

Source;
http://www.gtspirit.com/2014/10/13/video-hondas-2015-f1-engine-teased/

Honda could run new Civic Type R model in BTCC in 2015

by Kevin Turner of www.autosport.com

Honda could field its new Civic Type R in the British Touring Car Championship next season.

The Japanese firm's future participation in the series had been questioned due to its Formula 1 entry with McLaren, but negotiations are ongoing for a 2015 tin-top plan.

A Honda spokesperson told AUTOSPORT: "We haven't finished our deal for 2015, but it is absolutely our intention to run in the BTCC again in 2015, especially with the launch of the new Civic Type R."

If confirmed, the move would mean works squad Team Dynamics switching back to a hatchback-style body for its NGTC contenders, after one season with the Civic Tourer estate (pictured).

BTCC champions Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal have both won races in the Tourer this season, but their championship campaigns have been troubled.

After a difficult Rockingham weekend, Neal pointed to the BTCC's boost regulations as an issue for the team's VTEC engine, which was also new for 2014.

"The car's great but it's not got a TOCA engine," said Neal.

"The first speed trap [at Rockingham] is fine because it's halfway through a corner but there's not a single Honda in the top 20 in the middle speed trap."

He also warned the issue had threatened Honda's future involvement, before the spokesperson's comments.
"Honda will pull out of the championship," added Neal.

"So they [TOCA officials] have done their job because what they want is Honda out of the championship."

GOW DISMISSES COMMENTS

Series boss Alan Gow responded to Neal by pointing to the fact that Honda has won three consecutive drivers' titles.

"We've heard those moans for the last three seasons about their engine power," he said.


"And in that time, the Honda Civic has won every drivers', teams' and manufacturers' championship.

"Moreover, last year Andrew Jordan in an independent Civic won the championship, beating the works Team Dynamics cars.

"At Rockingham Jordan was the top Honda driver - and he's not even using the latest-spec VTEC engine like the works cars - while the two Team Dynamics cars went backwards.

"Clearly they need to direct their frustration elsewhere, but if they think I'm going to just sit back and accept their outrageous accusation about us wanting Honda out of the BTCC, then they can think again."

Source;
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/115778

Honda: No customer teams in 2015 or 2016

Honda has confirmed that it will only supply one team with engines when it returns to the sport in 2015, McLaren.

Having unceremoniously left the sport at the end of 2008, the fruit of its efforts belatedly paying off in 2009 when Brawn GP took both the drivers' and constructors' titles, the Japanese company returns to F1 next year in partnership with McLaren, a partnership that became one of the most successful and powerful in the sport's history during the 1980s and ’90s.

Speaking at today's official press conference in Shanghai, the company's motorsport boss, Yasuhisa Arai, dismissed rumours that Honda would be supplying other teams in 2015, or indeed 2016, whilst refusing to comment on who might become a customer in 2017 and beyond.

"For 2015, McLaren is our only customer," he told reporters. "I don't think about the future, because we want to concentrate on next season."

Pushed under the assumption that the Japanese giant must have factored the income from potential customer teams into its budget, Arai continued to give nothing away, whilst appearing to suggest that the McLaren deal is exclusive for 2016 also.

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"Of course we want to have good results next season and see the results from other manufacturers," he said. "Please chose our power unit for next season. If teams want to use our engine or power unit, we can deliver after year 2016 but right now there are no plans."

Chris Balfe

Source;
http://www.pitpass.com/51398/Honda-No-customer-teams-in-2015-or-2016

McLaren and Honda could team up on hybrid supercar

Concept sketches of McLaren P15 supercar that would incorporate Honda F1 hybrid racing technology.

Following McLaren's presentation of the new 650S at the Geneva Motor Show, the manufacturer is said to be working on a new flagship model codenamed P15. According to Car and Driver, McLaren's future F1 partner Honda could lend its hybrid technology expertise to the project.

McLaren is reportedly developing the new model to take the place of its current flagship supercar, the sold-out P1. According to the online magazine, the P15 will be priced under US$500,000 (RM1.6 million) and will be a full production model, meaning that far more than just a few hundred cars will be made.

The model is said to be a supercar with a carbon fibre structure and most likely a hybrid engine. Car and Driver suggests that McLaren could be collaborating with Honda to develop the new model's hybrid powertrain.

The two manufacturers already plan to work together within the scope of McLaren's F1 programme; Honda will power the British brand's race cars from the 2015 season.

The new McLaren P15 is not expected to launch until 2017. – AFP/Relaxnews, March 25, 2014.

Source;
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/drive/article/mclaren-and-honda-could-team-up-on-hybrid-supercar

First pictures of 2014 Honda Civic WTCC released

Honda have released the first pictures of the new Honda Civic touring car from its test at Motorland Aragón in Spain.

Drivers Gabriele Tarquini and Tiago Monteiro drove the car during the test and Honda President and CEO Takanobu Ito is confident for a strong season in 2014 with the duo.

“We achieved four victories and captured the Manufacturers’ title in 2013 that was our first year of full-participation in WTCC. In the upcoming season we will strive to win the double title for Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ fielding a total of four cars run by three teams,” said Ito.

Cars in the new TC1 class will have more power, lower weight, bigger wheels and more aerodynamics, as visible in the pictures.

The 2014 FIA World Touring Car Championship season starts on April 13 at Marrakech.

Source;
http://www.touringcartimes.com/2014/02/07/first-pictures-of-2014-honda-civic-released/

Honda says making 'steady progress' in F1 comeback

Japan's Honda Motor Co. President Takanobu Ito delivers a speech during a press conference in Tokyo on Feb 7 on the company's motorsports strategy and initiatives for 2014. - AFP

TOKYO (AFP): Japanese automaker Honda said Friday it is making "steady progress" toward its return to Formula One racing in 2015.

Honda said last year it would rejoin the European-dominated sport as an engine supplier to British team McLaren in a bid to revive their championship-winning partnership.

"The company is making steady progress in developing the power unit," Honda said in a statement outlining its motorsports strategy for 2014.

The company is establishing its European base for F1 activity in Milton Keynes, 80 kilometres (50 miles) northwest of London, to rebuild and maintain power units developed at Honda's research and development centre in Japan.

The company said it also set up a new centre at home in January for development of F1 and other motorsports.

Honda pulled out of F1 after the 2008 season, ending an involvement that began in the 1960s, to cut costs during the economic downturn that ravaged Japanese exports to the United States and Europe. It sold its team to former principal Ross Brawn the next year.

A recent change in F1 rules, promoting the use of environmentally friendlier turbo engines, made the comeback decision easier because Honda can more readily transfer the technology to its commercial vehicles.

The McLaren-Honda alliance conquered F1 from 1988 to 1991 with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost at the wheel.

Honda started racing in F1 as a full-fledged team in 1964, and stayed until 1968.

During that time, it won two races. Then, as a supplier of engines to other teams including McLaren, Williams and Lotus, it raced from 1983 to 1992 and won 69 races.

After an eight-year hiatus, Honda returned as an engine provider and then part-owner of the BAR team from 2000 to 2005. In 2006 it took full control and renamed it Honda.

Source;
http://www.thestar.com.my/Sport/Motorsport/2014/02/07/Honda-says-making-steady-progress-in-F1-comeback/

Ayrton Senna’s Honda NSX pictures

If there is one thing that will boost the value of a classic car, it is 'provenance' - a provable history of ownership by somebody famous. 

And this 1992 Honda NSX has provenance in spades; once owned by legendary three times Formula One world champion Ayrton Senna, it will go under the hammer at Silverstone Auctions' Race Retro & Classic Car Sale on 22 and 23 February. 

The Honda was originally bought by Antonio Carlos de Almeida Braga, Senna's manager, mentor and close personal friend, for the Brazilian to use when he visited the Braga family home in Portugal - and Braga made sure that it was exactly the same specification (plain black, with black leather interior and manual gearbox) as the NSX Senna drove at home in Brazil. 

NOBODY WAS ALLOWED TO TOUCH IT

 

After Senna's tragic death at Imola in 1994, the car just stood in the garage at Braga's home. He wouldn't let anybody touch it and it hadn't been driven for two years when Braga finally sold it, to an investor who kept it only a short time before selling it on to the current owner in 1997. Even now it has only 50 820km on its odometer. 

Auctioneer Nick Whale said: "Very rarely does a car with such pedigree and provenance come on the market, especially with such a personal link to arguably the greatest Formula one driver of all time." 

MULTIPLE ANNIVERSARIES 

 

This year sees the 20th anniversary of Senna's death, while next year will be the 25th anniversary of this model. Senna was also personally involved in the development of the NSX because at that time Honda was supplying engines to the McLaren F1 team, a partnership which is set to resume again for the 2015 season. 

Given its superb original condition and, of course, its provenance, Whale expects it to fetch £75 000 - £85 000 (R1.4 - R1.55 million). 

Source;

http://www.iol.co.za/motoring/cars/honda/ayrton-senna-s-honda-nsx-for-auction-1.1638306#.UufHTftMGHs

Honda fears falling behind as rivals benefit from F1 2014 experience

Honda fears falling behind as rivals benefit from F1 2014 experience

Honda top brass admit that taking a watching brief during next year's F1 campaign could put it at a disadvantage when it returns to the track in 2015.

The Japanese marque is due to make a much-heralded return to the top flight with McLaren – with whom it dominated the period between 1988-92 – but will not be ready for competition until 2015, giving rivals Mercedes, Renault and Ferrari a year's head-start when it comes to understanding the new engine and drivetrain technology being adopted by the category next season.

Although Honda is already working on its own version of the new 1.4-litre turbocharged V6 powerplant, it admits that not being able to pit it against the three established manufacturers on track next year will prevent it from learning some of the development tricks it expects the 'big three' to pick up.

"There are both advantages and disadvantages of participating from 2014," motorsport chief Yasuhisa Arai told the FIA's official publication Auto, "Many things will happen during the F1 season, and we are in a fortunate situation to be able to observe what will happen. However, as we are only able to observe, we cannot physically be at the track to see the problems.

“Other teams can improve on their problems and progress as the race goes on. How they will progress will be a mystery to us and our engineers must rely on their imaginations."

McLaren will start next season with the new driver pairing of Jenson Button and rookie Kevin Magnussen, but will have to complete one further year with long-standing engine partner Mercedes before being able to make the switch to Honda. Both McLaren and Honda, however, believe that their historical success together will make the transition as smooth as possible.

The pair's previous five-year partnership, which included the successful but volatile pairing of Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna behind the wheel, produced no fewer than eight world championships, as well as 44 race wins, 53 pole positions and 30 fastest laps - in just 80 grands prix. The 1988 season was the most dominant in history, with McLaren winning all but one of the 16 races, and only losing a grip on the other when Senna collided with a slower car in Italy.

“Whilst both companies are fully aware that we're embarking on a very demanding journey together, we're hugely committed to the success of the partnership, and we'll spend the next 18 months working together to ensure that we're fully established and competitive ahead of our first grand prix together in 2015,” team principal Martin Whitmarsh said in May.

“The names of McLaren and Honda are synonymous with success in F1 and, for everyone who works for both companies, the weight of our past achievements together lies heavily on our shoulders. But it's a mark of the ambition and resolve we both share that we want once again to take McLaren-Honda to the very pinnacle of F1 success. Together we have a great legacy – and we're utterly committed to maintaining it.”

Arai, too, believes the combination of past success and determination to succeed again will put the pairing in a good position when they finally come together on track.

"We have had a great history together, but more important is the mutual respect we have for each other's work ethic and processes,” he concluded, “We have the same mentality or feel when we pursue victory and that is very important."

Source;
http://www.crash.net/f1/news/198825/1/honda-fears-falling-behind.html

Honda's 2014 WTCC Civic revealed

Honda has released the first visual of its 2014 World Touring Car Championship challenger reflecting the all new technical regulations for the FIA WTCC which will come into force next year.

The Honda Civic WTCC render shows the 'subtle style of the wheel arch extensions, larger diameter wheels, sleeker aero package and extended rear spoiler'. Add all this to increased engine power and the 2014 Honda WTCC racer is clearly an 'ambitious' car designed to retain Honda's Manufacturers World Championship crown and enable its drivers to challenge for the World Champion title.

Two works cars will be run by JAS Motorsport for Gabriele Tarquini and Tiago Monteiro next season with further Civics to be entered by private outfits Zengo Motorsport and Proteam Racing for Hungary's Norbert Michelisz and Moroccan Mehdi Bennani respectively.

This announcement follows hot on the heels of the recent unveiling of the new 2014 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship Civic Tourer racer, with Matt Neal and Gordon 'Flash' Shedden confirmed as the Honda Yuasa Racing drivers for another season.

Source;
http://www.crash.net/wtcc/news/198722/1/hondas_2014_wtcc_civic_revealed.html

This McLaren-Honda F1 Documentary Has All The Greats And A Concerto

Welcome to Sunday Matinee, where we highlight classic car reviews or other longer videos I find on YouTube. Kick back and enjoy this blast from the past.

There's still nothing as captivating as a long video with great footage from the early 1990s and that legendary time for F1 – with names like McLaren, Honda and Senna.

This look at the McLaren-Honda days is narrated by someone who must intend this to be an informational video for elementary school viewers and even the smallest F1 fan probably won't learn anything they didn't from the commentary. However, it's an extensive look into the team and the daily lives of drivers at the track which turns out to be kind of fascinating in this case.

The narrator also talks a lot about tires and it sounds like he could say, "There it is again!" at any moment.

Then there's this one-on-one interview with Ayrton Senna where he spends a lot of time thinking before saying something good. Riveting.

Also, you get to see a lot of Honda Concertos in this. They must've really been pushing the performance of that car way back when. Zero to 60 in under 10 seconds! And it sounds like they forced them on new drivers as company cars. Then you worked up to a real car, like a new Legend. Those were the days.

Thanks for the tip, Nick!

Source;
http://jalopnik.com/this-mclaren-honda-f1-documentary-has-all-the-greats-an-1448762815

Honda Fires new F1 Engine for the First Time

Today Honda has released a recording of its new F1 engine which was recently fired for the first time. The engine is being developed for the 2015 season where Honda will participate under a joint project with McLaren.

Manabu Nishimae, President of Honda Motor Europe Ltd, commented, “It is exciting to hear the cry of our new born Formula One engine for the first time. Our engineers are working hard to develop the engine and we are all looking forward to the start of the 2015 season.”

Honda will be in charge of the development, manufacture and supply of the power unit, including the engine and energy recovery system, while McLaren will be in charge of the development and manufacture of the chassis, as well as the management of the new team, McLaren Honda.

From 2014, new F1 regulations require the introduction of a 1.6 litre direct injection turbocharged V6 engine with energy recovery systems. The opportunity to further develop these powertrain technologies through the challenge of racing is central to Honda’s decision to participate in F1. Throughout its history, Honda has passionately pursued improvements in the efficiency of the internal combustion engine and in more recent years, the development of pioneering energy management technologies such as hybrid systems. Participation in Formula 1 under these new regulations will encourage even further technological progress in both these areas. Furthermore, a new generation of Honda engineers can experience the challenges and the thrills of operating at the pinnacle of motorsport.

Honda will base its European racing operation in Milton Keynes from June 2014.

Source;
http://www.hondanews.eu/en/corporatenewsdetail/?id=3335

Honda NSX Concept-GT breaks cover

To race at Suzuka

Honda has announced the NSX Concept-GT race car which will compete in the GT500 class of the Super GT Series fifth round this weekend at Suzuka.

As you would imagine, the racecar is based on the Acura NSX concept and complies with the 2014 regulations established by the Japan Automobile Federation regarding GT500 cars. The vehicle is powered by a 2.0-liter mid-mounted inline direct-injection turbocharged four-cylinder engine working together with a hybrid setup.

No further details were released, but we notice the addition of a wide body kit including a huge rear wing, a lowered suspension, a carbon fiber front spoiler lip, side vents and multi-spoke alloys shod in Bridgestone Potenza tires.

The road-legal Acura NSX is scheduled to go on sale in 2015, with production taking place in Ohio, United States.

Source;
http://www.worldcarfans.com/113081661530/honda-nsx-concept-gt-breaks-cover

Honda steals Detroit show from Chevrolet

Simon Pagenaud, of France, raises his fist on his victory lap at the IndyCar Detroit Grand Prix auto race on Belle Isle in Detroit, Sunday, June 2, 2013. The victory was Pagenaud's first. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

bu George Pohly

DETROIT – The weekend wasn’t as bad for Chevrolet as it was for AJ Allmendinger.

But it was close.

Allmendinger failed to complete a lap in either of the 70-lap IndyCar Series races on Belle Isle, including the one Sunday won by Frenchman Simon Pagenaud for Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports. 

That wasn’t what the former NASCAR driver who’s reviving his career with Team Penske had in mind when he arrived in the Motor City after a strong showing in the Indianapolis 500. 

“Just a huge mistake by me,” a glum Allmendinger said after his second first-lap crash of the weekend. “I don’t know what to say.” 

Perhaps the same goes for Chevrolet. 

What can anyone say?

At an event that carried the automobile maker’s brand in its name, the Bowtie bunch got shut out during the Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit as first Mike Conway on Saturday and then Pagenaud drove Honda-powered cars to first-place finishes in the first “doubleheader” of racing by the IndyCar Series.

Honda drivers took the top five places, and six of the top seven, on Sunday. 

On Saturday, Honda took three of the top four places. 

“They’ve worked really hard since Indy,” James Jakes, the runner-up Sunday, said in reference to Honda. 

Tony Kanaan, driving for KV Racing Technology and powered by the Chevrolet IndyCar engine, scored an emotional victory in the Indianapolis 500, Kanaan’s first in the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

But Chevy’s bounce from Indy was short-lived. 

Dario Franchitti, whose Target Chip Ganassi Racing team is in the Honda camp, won the pole position for Saturday’s race. 

Then Conway, a late fill-in for Dale Coyne Racing, won the pole for Sunday before he prevailed in the Saturday race that featured only 14 caution laps. 

It was a different story Sunday.

Well, sort of a different story. 

There were six cautions before the race was 30 laps old.

The most dramatic caution came from a lap-28 accident that involved 10 cars and compelled Will Power, whose Team Penske Chevrolet was damaged in the melee, to pitch his racing gloves at Sebastien Bourdais, the driver Power blamed for the pileup. 

“He once was a champ, and now he’s a chump,” Power said before the No. 12 crew got his car back on the track. 

Once racing resumed, the balance of the weekend’s second race was competitive and entertaining.

It just did not end well for Chevrolet. 

“It’s very sweet for Honda to win in General Motors’ city,” Pagenaud said. “I’m very proud of Honda.

“But I’m not going to bash General Motors. I thank them for putting on this event.” 

Team Penske, run by Detroit champion and IndyCar icon Roger Penske, had a tough Sunday.Allmendinger finished last, Power 20th and Helio Castroneves eighth. 

Perhaps the best that can be said for Chevrolet is that, as the IndyCar teams packed up and left Detroit, Chevy drivers Marco Andretti and Castroneves were tied for the season points lead with 206 markers apiece. 

“We leave here tied for the top of the points standings, which is where we want to be, so overall it was a good weekend,” Castroneves said. 

A victory or two would have been better, of course. 

But that’s racing.

Chevrolet had its day at Indianapolis, and Honda returned the favor in Detroit. 

The IndyCar Series moves next to Texas.

It’s Chevy’s turn to answer back. 

Source;

http://www.themorningsun.com/article/20130603/SPORTS03/130609902/honda-steals-detroit-show-from-chevrolet#full_story

Honda to build engine for McLaren’s Porsche 911 competitor…or so we’d like to think

Looking at the neighbor kid’s mistreated Civic or your grandpa’s Accord, you might not guess that Honda is one of the world’s foremost engine manufacturers. But it is.

Aside from its car engine division, Honda produces all kinds of small displacement engines powering anything from its motorcycles to its power generators – and beyond.

In fact, if you think far enough back to what now seems like ancient history, the 1980s and ‘90s, Honda used to be apart of one of the winningest Formula 1 teams of its time: McLaren-Honda. With drivers like Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost at the wheel, Honda’s engines propelled the team’s cars to 44 Gran Prix wins from 1988 to 1991.

Recently, Honda announced it would again team with McLaren for the 2015 season producing the new turbocharged 1.6-liter V6 engines required by Formula 1 for 2014.

Additionally, McLaren has said it’ll be producing an entry-level Porsche 911 competitor beneath he MP4-12C. Could this mean that McLaren will soon have a Honda-powered road-going sports car? Motor Trend seems to think so.

The idea doesn’t seem too far-fetched. Sure, we’re not millionaires in the market for a McLaren but taking our present budget-minded selves into consideration, we’re a bit concerned with a McLaren sports car’s potential reliability – especially compared to the meticulously-built 911.

Not to say that McLaren designers don’t put the time in, but as a small, independent brand, it’s R&D isn’t on the same level as Porsche’s. Add a Honda motor under the hood, however, and you’ve got our penny-pinching attention.

There’s some credence to the theory from a financial standpoint, too. Formula 1 changed the engine requirements so that the innovation going into Formula 1 cars could trickle down into the consumer market. The money spent on R&D on a new-fangled motor could greatly be offset if it were to hit a production car, albeit de-tuned.

Source;

http://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/honda-to-build-engine-for-mclarens-porsche-911-competitoror-so-wed-like-to-think/

Say Goodbye to the Honda HSV-010

Honda aborted its front-engined NSX project years ago and turned it into a racecar, but even that's being put to pasture as the new hybrid NSX rolls in.

 

by Noah Joseph of www.carbuzz.com

Never heard of the Honda HSV-010 GT? That’s because, unlike the other cars competing in Japan’s Super GT series, the HSV-010 isn’t actually based on a production car. It traces its roots to an aborted front-engined NSX project, but a loophole in the regulations allowed it to race anyway. But it won’t for much longer. According to reports, Honda Racing will race the HSV-010 GT in the GT500 class of the Super GT series this year, much as it has since 2010. But 2013 will be its last season before Honda phases it out in favor of the new NSX.

With the roadgoing NSX not expected to arrive until late next year, at the earliest, that means the Super GT500 version will be the first on the scene. It also means that the HSV-010 will have had a rather short lifespan, deployed only on the racetrack (despite its original production intentions) for three years. In contrast, the original NSX competed in the Super GT series (and its predecessor Japanese Grand Touring Car Championship) for a solid twelve seasons. The original won the title three times, and the HSV-010 another one. Will the new NSX be as successful? Only time will tell.

Source;
http://www.carbuzz.com/news/2013/4/4/Say-Goodbye-to-the-Honda-HSV-010-7713722/

McLaren and Honda getting back together?

By Greg Stuart on 11 March 2013 in F1

 

The dream team from 1988-1992 could be reunited in 2015…

Between 1988 and 1992, McLarens powered by Honda engines won four Drivers’ titles – three for Ayrton Senna and one for Alain Prost – and the same number of Constructors’ championships.

Now the latest rumour going around the F1 paddock is that Honda could be back in F1 by 2015 and looking to provide engines to the team again.

Speaking to Autopsort magazine recently, McLaren Team Principal Martin Whitmarsh was non-committal about whether Mercedes-Benz would continue to provide the team’s engines beyond the 2014 season.

"We have a contract that covers the next three seasons at the moment and we will certainly go into next year [2014] with Mercedes-Benz,” said Whitmarsh.

"There is nothing to announce at the moment,” he added. “I can't elaborate any further.”

Whitmarsh’s comments were analysed by Autosport’s F1 Editor Edd Straw, who was unconvinced that the McLaren/Mercedes-Benz partnership would exist beyond 2014.

“That he specifically confirmed next season, but dodged the issue of 2015 is telling,” said Straw.

“While the dotting of the i’s and the crossing of the t's might be incomplete, both McLaren and Honda plan to renew their partnership on track in 2015,” he added.

Should the rumour turn out to be true, it would bring to an end one of the most established manufacturer/engine supplier relationships in the modern Formula One era.

Following Honda’s withdrawal from the sport at the end of the 1992 season, McLaren languished for several years, using uncompetitive engines from Ford and Peugeot as the Renault-powered cars of Benetton and Williams drove off into the distance.

Mercedes-Benz returned to Formula One as an engine supplier in 1995 and were initially used only by McLaren. Four seasons later, the partnership took its first Drivers’ title with Mika Hakkinen, and claimed the Constructors’ title in the same year. Another Drivers’ title followed a year later, with Lewis Hamilton adding a third in 2008.

The relationship has even continued onto the road, with McLaren and Mercedes-Benz having jointly developed the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren road car back in 2003.

But even though McLaren has seen its fair share of success using Mercedes-Benz power, there’s no doubt that a return to Honda engines, and the subsequent evocation of the Senna/Prost era, would make for a great story.

Source;
http://www.redbull.com/en/motorsports/f1/stories/1331583536261/mclaren-and-honda-getting-back-together-