It was only a matter of time before Japan’s car-making companies joined their European, American and Korean counterparts in developing turbocharged gasoline engines for their mainstream products.
On Monday night (Tuesday morning in Japan), Honda joined the force-fed bandwagon with the announcement of the released of a newly developed line of VTEC TURBO direct injection gasoline turbo engines, which include a 1.0-liter three-cylinder unit, and two four-cylinder mills with a displacement of 1.5-liters and 2.0-liters.
Honda stated the following about its new VTEC Turbo units: “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.”
The brand with the “H” logo said that the new range of turbocharged petrol engines will be used in its future global models “in accordance with characteristics of each model and needs of local customers”, without divulging any further details.
However, we do know that the 2.0-liter VTEC Turbo, which will produce more than 280-horsepower in its most potent form, will be used in the new European market Civic Type R scheduled for a 2015 launch.
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