HONDA’S TOP TECH HITS
Its brainwaves have been as diverse as oval pistons for racing motorcycle engines via a family of Asimo robots to a green-minded jet plane – and here John Simister introduces some highlights of Honda’s car-related cleverness
1965 Ra272 FoRmula 1 caR
Honda entered Formula 1 in 1964 with a car powered by a miniature transversely mounted V12. A year later it was finishing in the points with driver Richie Ginther. The last F1 race of 1965, and the last of the 1.5-litre formula, was the Mexican Grand Prix. Ginther took the lead from the second row and never lost it, scoring Honda’s – and Japan’s – first GP victory. The engine revved to 14,000rpm but Ginther never needed to exceed 11,000.
1973 civic cvcc
Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion reduced emissions without a power-sapping catalyst. An extra inlet valve admits a rich mixture to an area separated from the rest of the combustion chamber by a perforated screen, the flame from which then ignites the ‘normal’ inlet valve’s weaker mixture, admitted by its own choke.
1987 PRelude 4WS
Honda was first on the four-wheel steer scene, with an entirely mechanical system to aid high-speed stability by fractional rear-steer in the same direction as the front wheels during the first part of the steering wheel’s movement, and low-speed agility by turning the rears opposite to the fronts when the steering wheel is turned further.
1990 nSX
Honda’s first supercar showed that something as exotic as a Ferrari could be as precisely built and easy to use as a Civic. Ayrton Senna was involved with its development; Gordon Murray was influenced by it for his McLaren F1. Its technical milestone was as the world’s first quantity(ish)-production car whose unitary body was pressed entirely from aluminium.
1988 civic vtec
Pioneering variable valve timing and lift: at low rpm the inlet valve rockers are actuated by cam-lobes optimised for torque. A third rocker, between the other two, follows a bigger lobe for high-rev power. At higher rpm, a hydraulically triggered pin locks the centre rocker to the other two, so the valves follow the middle lobe: two engines in one.
1999 inSight
The future made real. Insight looked like a concept car but the 835kg two-seater coupé with an NSX-like aluminium structure, 1.0-litre threecylinder plus electric motor and battery pack could be bought by anyone. Slippery shape and slender wheels helped it to remarkable economy figures. Modern classics get no more intriguing than this.