Honda to Race New European Civic Hatch with 1.6-liter Turbo in the WTCC

Honda is getting ready to put on its racing suit for the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC), in which it will participate with the new European Civic hatchback.

“We have made a decision to enter into the WTCC with the European Civic," said Honda CEO, Takanobu Ito, on the announcement. "We will develop a totally new engine for this project and we are all excited about starting this new challenge."

The Japanese automaker revealed that its Research and Development division will design a bespoke 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder racing engine with direct-injection in accordance with FIA’s Super 2000 regulations.

Honda's motorsports partners for this project are Mugen, which will manufacture and maintain the engine, and J.A.S. Motorsport, that will develop the racecar.

The company said that it aspires to join the WTCC as early as this season, with a string of “inaugural rounds” to trial the car and which will likely include Japan (held on 21 October 2012 at Honda’s Suzuka circuit), followed by China and Macau.

Honda then plans to enter a two-car team managed by J.A.S. Motorsport into every race in the 2013 championship season.

The Japanese company noted that its activity in the WTCC is being run independently to the Honda Racing British Touring Car Championship.

Source;
http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2012/02/honda-to-race-in-wtcc-with-its-new.html

Next Honda Civic Type R will be firm’s first-ever turbo road car

The Honda Civic Type R already has a formidable reputation but the tuning experts at Mugen still think it could be improved. Sources in Japan divulged that Mugen has started development of a package for the model. Actually, the next Honda Civic Type R is believed to be its fastest version ever and is expected to be Honda’s first-ever turbo road car. The Type R is famous in the UK for its high-revving naturally aspirated engine and aggressive styling. To be able to comply with strict emissions standards, there will be some modifications.

A 2.0-litre turbo meant to comply with Euro V emissions regulations will be used instead of the 2.0-litre naturally aspirated engine, according to AutoExpress. Honda’s 2012 British Touring Car Championship challenger will also be tweaked and will use a similar engine. Because of the turbo, there will be more torque lower in the rev range. This means that a higher gear can be used more frequently to improve efficiency. It’s also expected to have stop-start.

The Type R’s output will increase slightly to 210bhp, enabling the vehicle to accelerate from zero to 62mph in less than 6.5 seconds and to reach a top speed nearing 150mph. The Type R will feature the standard car’s front grille, slim headlights and LED daytime running lights. However, most of the bodywork will be uprated. It will appear more stunning with a front end with large mesh air intakes, a lower chin spoiler and chunky side skirts. It will be more stable at high speeds due to its rear diffuser and extended spoiler. To improve the balance in corners, it will have the standard Civic’s longer, wider chassis. As a result, ride comfort and grip are improved as well.

Source;

http://www.4wheelsnews.com/next-honda-civic-type-r-will-be-firms-first-ever-turbo-road-car/