Temple of VTEC Rumors and News - Honda previews Civic Type R with Turbo VTEC, other new Turbo VTEC engines

The Tokyo Motor Show press days begin Wednesday morning in Japan, and as is customary, Honda has held its annual meeting in Japan, previewing some of their latest R&D developments to journalists from across the globe. Unfortunately, TOV did not attend the meeting this year, but from the reports it appears that this was one of the most interesting Honda meetings of the past 5 or more years.

Firstly, Honda has provided the journalists in attendance with an early preview drive of the Civic Type R hatchback, the development of which was announced 2 years ago with the stated goal of breaking the FWD lap record at Germany's famed Nurburgring (with a goal of recording a lap in under 8 minutes). To perform such a feat obviously requires a certain power to weight ratio, and as they promised, Honda has developed a turbocharged 2.0L VTEC 4-cylinder engine, producing in excess of 280hp and 400Nm (295lb-ft) of torque. The Civic Type R prototype is exclusively equipped with a 6-speed manual transmission.

In addition, Honda announced and demonstrated two smaller turbocharged engines, with a 1.5L 4-cylinder Turbo VTEC reportedly developing 150kW (201hp) and 260Nm (192lb-ft) of torque, and a diminutive 1.0L 3-cylinder turbo VTEC engine, which is claimed to be good for at least 95kW (127hp) and 200Nm (147lb-ft) of torque.

Additionally, according to other media accounts, Honda apparently revealed some more details on the upcoming NSX drivetrain, displaying a 3.5L longitudinally-mounted twin-turbocharged V6 engine with direct-injection. From the photos, it appears that this V6 uses a 90-degree configuration, as opposed to the current J-series V6's 60-degree vee-angle. The turbocharging part is no surprise, as it was hinted very strongly to us last year that turbocharging was going to be a part of the recipe. But when Honda first announced the NSX, they initially showed a transverse engine layout (which is how the original NSX was designed), and many assumed that the 3.5L V6 would be based upon the current J-series engine block. A member of the TOV has been contending for months that Honda switched to a longitudinal layout and 90-degree configuration for the V6, and it turns out that this person's information was accurate.

Also displayed was a new 8-speed DCT transmission with a torque converter. The torque converter is included to solve DCT's inherent driveability issues at lower speeds. Robot clutches just aren't very good at smoothly modulating engagement, so torque converters are used for those situations. The dual clutch mechanism permits the nearly instantaneous and seamless upshifts at speed. This transmission does not have sufficient capacity to be coupled to the new 2.0L Turbo engine, but it should work with the 1.5L Turbo and normally aspirated 4-cylinder engines.

Press release for the 3 turbo VTEC engines follows:

Honda Develops VTEC TURBO, Direct Injection Gasoline Turbo Engine That Achieves Class-leading Output and Environmental Performance

TOKYO, Japan, November 19, 2013 - Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today announced that it has newly developed VTEC TURBO, a direct injection gasoline turbo engine most suitable for small-to-medium-sized vehicles. The VTEC TURBO is a new addition to the Earth Dreams Technology, the next-generation powertrain technologies which achieve both the fun of driving and excellent fuel economy at a high level.

With the application of variable valve motion technology such as Honda's unique VTEC along with direct injection turbocharging with highly-fluidized combustion and a thorough reduction in engine friction, this engine achieves class-leading output and environmental performance, while downsizing engine displacement.

Along with existing hybrid technology and diesel engine, the VTEC TURBO that features displacement size variation of 2.0 L, 1.5 L and 1.0 L will be adopted by Honda's future global models in accordance with characteristics of each model and needs of local customers.

Lineup of direct injection gasoline turbo engines
■2.0 L 4-cylinder direct injection gasoline turbo engine
High output and high response were achieved by VTEC, a high-output turbocharger, direct injection technology, and a high-performance cooling system. This is an innovative high-performance engine that realizes the maximum output of more than 280 HP as well as high environmental performance that complies with the EURO 6, European emission standards which will become effective in 2014.
■1.5 L 4-cylinder direct injection gasoline turbo engine / 1.0 L 3-cylinder direct injection gasoline turbo engine
These are next-generation compact engines that combine a base engine with a newly designed framework, the VTEC variable valve train system with thoroughly reduced friction, a turbocharger with a low moment of inertia and high responsiveness, and direct injection technology to achieve good balance between high output and torque, above those of conventional naturally-aspirated engines, along with excellent fuel economy.

FULL GALLERY of photos here