Honda has announced the introduction of a new direct-injection turbocharged 1.6-litre engine that will be fitted into the brand’s new Civic race car for the FIA World Touring Car Championship. Codenamed HR412E, the new power plant is developed at Honda’s R&D centre in Tochigi, Japan. The engine has been delivered to the Honda Racing Team JAS workshop in Milan, Italy.

“The HR412E heralds a new generation of high performance racing engines from Honda,” said WTCC Development Project Leader at Honda R&D, Daisuke Horiuchi. “All engineers at the R&D centre in Tochigi have worked hard to develop a race engine that will deliver great driveability to our racing drivers, with no compromise on peak power performance.”

Just like how VTEC technology made it from the race track to the street, Honda enthusiast are wondering if Honda’s racing efforts may be part of a larger plan to develop turbocharged engines for the street. On the matter, Horiuchi said, “We believe the innovations that have led to this revolutionary engine will also lead to benefits beyond the race track, helping us to further increase the efficiency of our road car engines.“

The Civic WTCC will take part in three races this season, with former F1 driver, Tiago Monteiro, behind the wheel. The race will start in Suzuki in October.

Tiago Monteiro