Honda Motor co. has unveiled a new range of small turbocharged engines, delivering performance outclassing bigger engines without compromising fuel efficiency. The new lineup includes a 2.0 liter four cylinder engine, a 1.5 liter four cylinder engine and a 1.0 liter three cylinder engine. The company also showcased an all new dual clutch transmission. According to the company’s US CEO Tetsuo Iwamura, the company would want to replace the current generation of naturally aspirated petrol engines to the maximum extent possible. The unveiling of the new engines happened during media events before the commencement of the Tokyo Motor Show.
The new range of turbocharged VTEC engines features direct injection and Honda’s variable valve timing system (VTEC) for enhanced performance and fuel efficiency. While all the technical specifications about these new engines have not been revealed, what we know for now is that the top of the line 2.0 liter engine will dish out a very tasty 280bhp of power, delivering a specific output of 140PS per liter-which is very exciting indeed.
- The three engine will make their vehicle debuts in a descending order of cubic capacity. The biggest of them all, the 2.0 liter engine will appear on European cars, likely the Civic Type R sometime in mid 2015. Honda is also considering this unit for applications in the US of A.
- The 1.5 liter turbo will be launched sometime early 2016, with a focus on Asia and America. The new engine will effectively replace the 1.8 VTEC units (Civic in India) in most markets. According to Honda, the new engine will offer about 15 percent better fuel efficiency and45 percent more torque over the 1.8 unit. Expect the output to be in the range of 190bhp
- Finally, the 1.0 liter turbo will find its use in a variety of vehicles in regions ranging from US, Europe, China and South (East) Asia. According to some source, the new engine is equivalent or better than the Ford Ecoboost 1.0 engine. It manages to outclass the 1.8 liter VTEC by 15 percent more torque and 20 percent better efficiency. We expect the power output to be in the region of 130bhp.
New dual clutch auto transmission
Honda has also unveiled a new eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. The company has already unveiled a seven speed unit earlier. These new transmissions will primarily be used in vehicles outfitted with big 2.0 liter to 3.0 liter engines. The new dual clutch units offer a signification hike in terms of fuel efficiency and acceleration over the company’s previous auto boxes.
Honda, which has been acclaimed the world over as an innovation pioneer and a people’s champion has been sitting idle for more than half a decade now. With the new Earth Dreams engines and now the new engines and transmissions, seems like the zing is back in the Japanese company. Let’s hope the carmaker keeps exciting us with more such announcements.
Are you excited about the new engines? Would you like to have the new 1.0 Turbo in the future city? Share all your thoughts and opinions with us.
This sure is a pretty good move by Honda. But then why are we left devoid of the European models and engines? We are a sizeable market for every car maker and this should be taken into consideration.